The Nine Tailed Celestial Hero
by Commander Kitsune
Summary: In a brutal attack, Naruto's soul has been separated from his body. A new soul is needed to fuse with the left over body. And so I become Naruto. ...Awesome! SI, OOC Naruto, OC/Harem pairing. Extra genres: Humor. M for future lemons.
1. Chapter 1: Fusion and First Day

Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and Shonen Jump. DragonBall Series is the property of Akira Toriyama. Devil May Cry is the property of Capcom. Final Fantasy series is the property of SquareEnix. All original characters and jutsus are mine. Any similarities between this story and others is purely coincidental. All music is owned by the artists listed.

Music Albums needed: .hack/SIGN EXTRA OST, .hack/SIGN Original Soundtrack 2, NARUTO Shippuuden Original Soundtrack II, Dissidia -Final Fantasy- Original Soundtrack, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Original Soundtrack 2, Eureka seveN OST 1, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue OST, Dead Or Alive Xtreme 2 OST.

**Book 1**

**Chapter 1: Fusion and First Day**

(Cue song Echoes by Yuki Kajiura from .hack/SIGN Original Soundtrack 2)

It was raining. The clouds above weren't clearing at all. The crowd that only an hour ago had stood silently around the grave were gone. Now, only I remained; my tears had long since mixed with the rain. I was wet, cold, hungry and thirsty; however I remained at the gravesite of my mum.

My long black hair was pressed up against my face as the water trickled through the strands. Brown eyes filled with sadness stared longingly at the grave.

I was now alone, completely alone. Any uncles, aunts and cousins I once had, were now either dead, or had moved on in totally different directions from me. And I was still only 24 years old.

I whispered my thanks to my mum and slowly walked away, feeling a cold emptiness that I never knew was possible. As I made the slow trek to my lonely apartment, I kept alive my memories of my mother, who was there for me at any time. I thought she would keep on living for at least another thirty years.

I opened the front door and stepped inside; removing the wet overcoat and hanging it up near the door. I quickly made my way to the bathroom and prepared to take a shower. I immediately relished the feel of the hot water that cascaded down my slightly muscular form. However the sky in my heart was still raining.

After having the rather long shower, I stepped out, changed into fresh clothes and stepped into my bedroom which was also the living room. I was going to turn on the TV but before I could pick up the remote, a loud ringing sounded through the room. Someone was sounding the doorbell.

"Who could that be I wonder?" I said to myself as I made my way over to the door. Peeking through the little peeky hole in the door, I saw on the other side, someone dressed in white. He seemed to be in his 40's.

'He doesn't seem to be a bad guy,' I thought, and with this I opened the door.

(Cue song Mountain Haze by Yasuharu Takanashi \ Yaiba from NARUTO Shippuuden Original Soundtrack II)

The guy was bald. His nationality seemed to be Asian. Thick bushy white eyebrows and a small pointed white beard with blue eyes looked at me with warmth. With him looking like a monk, the man seemed spiritual.

"You must be Josh Ryu Kitsune," he said in a voice that suited him completely. A voice that held much wisdom and intelligence.

"Yes?" I asked hesitantly.

"There is something I wish to discuss with you. Mind if I come in?" he asked.

I hesitated; without knowing the man, I also didn't know his intentions. But something about him seemed to calm the downpour in my mind. That feeling alone had me smiling slightly and moving out of the way.

He seated himself on the couch as I sat on the small seat next to it. I was just about to open my mouth to ask him what he wanted to discuss with me, when he spoke.

"You are wondering what I wish to talk to you about," he said.

"Uh, yeah," I said back, wondering how he knew what I was thinking. 'Coincidence,' I summed up in my mind.

"Well, to start off, do you know of the Anime called Naruto?"

"Uh….yeah?" I started wondering where this was going. And what did anime have to do it? Naruto was in the top 5 of my favourite anime.

(Cue song The Order That Must be Protected by Takeharu Ishimoto from Dissidia -Final Fantasy- Original Soundtrack)

"Well, maybe it might be better if I show you something first." He then held out his hand. All of a sudden a ball of swirling energy formed in his hand. It looked like a miniature cyclone. I immediately knew what it was, having seen it so many times in the anime.

"The… the Rasengan!" I choked out. I then looked at the mysterious man. "Who are you?"

The man smiled. "I'm the god that overlooks that world."

"…Wow…" was all I could say. Such a thing was mind-boggling, but from the jutsu he just performed, I was inclined to agree with him. "So, what do you want with me?" I asked, excitement now starting to boil up inside me.

"Well the villagers and ninja have been planing an attack on Naruto for some time. A few hours ago the attack came. It was so brutal that it somehow separated his soul from his body. Right now his body is alive, but there is no-one home. That also means that the Shiki Fuujin is deteriorating from the lack of willpower to power the seal. Kyuubi isn't evil. Kyuubi is the guardian for Fire Country. I don't know how this happened; I was concentrating on another spot in the Elemental Countries. Before I knew it, she was sealed into the boy, and his father was inside the stomach of my brother, the Shinigami. Anyway, if the seal breaks, then Naruto will literally explode. The explosion will vaporise most of Fire Country. I needed to find a fresh soul that is similar to the boy's soul and place it into the body so the seal stays intact. I've chosen you."

My head was spinning. This all seamed like some wild fantasy. However…

"I accept, but I would like you to do several things before I do this." The god sat still and waited.

"First of all I would like to know if my family is alright in Heaven. Second would be alright if I could transfer all of my money from here and place it in Naruto's room. I don't want to be broke while I'm there. The third is a question. How old is Naruto?"

The god was nodding throughout all this, silently saying that all this would happen. When it came to the third question he told me that he was 12 years old, a few days away from the gennin test. He then told me that, while he didn't know my family's status in Heaven, he would ask as soon as possible.

"Ok, also would it be alright if I had a few things of my own?" Seeing the god nod I listed three. Since I would be learning Kage Bunshin later I didn't ask for it. The first two things were a perfect replica of Ragna's cleaver sword that could lengthen or shorten magically depending on my height, and the skills to wield it at an expert proficiency level. The last was a bloodline. It was the ability to use Ki like in DragonBall Z. The god nodded again.

"Well," I said as I looked around my room, probably for the last time. "I'm ready."

The god nodded and placed his hand on my head. I then felt incredibly sleepy and closed my eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

(Cue music silence)

I opened my eyes groggily and noticed that I was in a hospital. I tried to move my arms but they felt like lead was inside them. For the moment I stayed still and focused inside myself.

The next thing I saw was that I was in the sewers. Even though it didn't smell at all (in fact it didn't smell of anything) I wrinkled my nose. Hearing someone sobbing up ahead I started splashing my way to the source. It didn't take me long to arrive at the room.

I was taken back by how big it was. It really was huge! Half way across the room was a pair of giant steel doors. The metal looked fairly new, but in a few spots, there were specks of rust forming. But as I looked closely, the rust was disappearing. Half way up where the gates met, was a piece of paper with the kanji for 'Seal' written on it.

Looking to where the sobbing was coming from, I saw a huge red fox with nine tails. The fox was weeping strongly and so hadn't noticed me approaching. The fox was really something to look at. But at the moment I walked up to the bars and looked at it, worried.

"Kyuubi? Why are you crying?" I asked.

Kyuubi opened one of her eyes and looked at me. The eye was so big; I could see my reflection in the ruby red irises.

"**Who are you?"** she asked; her voice strong despite her being sad about something.

"I'm the soul that the Kami of this world chose for me to inhabit this body, to stop the seal from caving in on itself," I explained.

She then fully focused on me as she turned around. **"I see,"** she said sadly. **"I never meant for this to happen. I never meant for the kid to get hurt."** She started to cry again. **"I never g-got the c-chance to say s-sorry!"** she sobbed.

(Cue song Distrust by Yuki Kajiura from .hack/SIGN EXTRA OST)

I couldn't take it anymore. I walked between the bars, up to her huge head and wrapped my arms around her black, wet nose. Her red eyes opened in shock. I released her and looked into her eyes. "I'm sure that Naruto has forgiven you and is looking down on us right now." I then backed away. "Now shrink yourself so I can give you a proper hug."

Kyuubi still looked shocked but complied and her whole form turned into red energy. The chakra then contracted and formed a new shape. I gasped when the transformation was complete.

There in front of me, was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. Her looks would have flattened any beauty contest on earth by miles. She truly looked like a goddess. Her silky looking hair cascaded in rich red locks that reached down to her feet. (Looks like Kurumi's hair from Steel Angel Kurumi just a different colour) Poking out from her hair were two red fox ears with white tips. Behind her were nine red foxtails that were tipped white and were drooping from her sadness. She was clad in a red Yakuta that clung to her very shapely form. If there was ever a Pandora goddess, she was it.

Without a second thought I sat down next to her and wrapped my arms around her. She leaned into me and started crying hard. I just rocked her slowly back and forth, holding her close and rubbing her back.

We stayed like that for 20 minutes until her tears had stopped. I slowly let her go and smiled at her. She smiled back, her ruby red eyes glistening like the jewels they represented.

"So, since you're going to be here, would you do me a small favour?" she asked.

"Sure, what is it?" I asked. She pointed to the seal. "Rip the corner off. That way we can talk to each other without you coming down here." I nodded and stepped out of the cage, only to realise that the seal was way out of my reach.

"Uh, Kyuubi? Can you change back into your big fox form so you can lift me up there?"

She giggled and once again reverted back to her fox form. She then stuck out her paw so I could reach the seal. I clambered on and she hoisted me up to the seal. I took hold of one corner and tore it off. I then felt a strong pulse as the extra chakra rushed through me. After a moment it disappeared. Kyuubi then brought her head down to me and licked the side of my whole body as a sign of thanks. I smiled back, thankful that there wasn't any slobber on me.

I then closed my eyes and moved back to the physical world. I opened my eyes to see that I was still in the hospital. I started to sort through Naruto's memories, wincing more than several times as I saw the full extent of what the boy had been through.

(Cue song Nocturne of Amestris by Senju Akira from Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Original Soundtrack 2)

It must have been half an hour of thinking what to do when Hiruzen Sarutobi came by. I was debating on whether I should tell him about my fusion with this body or not. In the end I decided not to. Explaining this would have serious repercussions on the future. I wanted to know most of what was going to happen in the near future.

When the old Hokage came walking into my vision, I was shocked at how he looked in 3D now. He still had wrinkles all over his face and a few liver spots on there as well. But seeing him like that, was totally different from seeing him on a screen.

"Hello Naruto. How are you feeling?" he asked me.

"Can't move my arms Oji-san," I replied, remembering to keep up the default forms of address's with him. It was also weird hearing a different voice coming out of my mouth. This would take some time getting used to. I also noticed that I wasn't speaking Japanese however my voice sounded like the Japanese version of his anime voice. Thank god for that. I didn't want to sound like a 44 year old woman. My voice also definitely sounded like a male's voice and not like a woman's voice portraying a man's.

"You should be up and about soon. You always seem to recover so fast."

I realised that this would be the best time to let the cat out of the bag about Kyuubi, since the attack would be a great cover up to explain my arrival.

"**That's a good idea Josh-kun,"** answered Kyuubi in my mind, or rather, Naruto's mind but since Naruto wasn't here then technically it was my mind. I smiled mentally, glad that she approved. I didn't comment on the -kun suffix though.

"Um, Oji-san? There's something I need to talk to you about," I said seriously. Sarutobi focused all of his attention on me.

(Cue song The Wind That Blows Through The Equinoctial Week by Naoki Sato from Eureka seveN OST 1 Disc 2)

"I know of the Kyuubi inside me," I whispered very softly. The Hokage's eyes widened slightly before flashing through a set of hand seals. I felt a faint wave of chakra sweep through me as I realised that it was some sort of sound barrier jutsu so no-one could eavesdrop on us.

"Tell me what happened," he asked, though it sounded more like a demand. I then started to tell the old man the story that I was fabricating on the spot, with a little help from Kyuubi. I basically said that Kyuubi wasn't what everyone thought. That she was the guardian of Fire country. And why she attacked Konoha. This was new information to the both of us.

Apparently what happened is she was out patrolling as usual. However she only patrolled the areas of the original borders. When the nine guardians were placed on this land, they all had almost equal area to guard. But thanks to wars, among other things, the borders grew or shrank depending on the country. And so the nine guardians would patrol only the original area. But as time went on, Kami stationed more guardians for the smaller countries like Rice country.

Anyway, back to the story. Someone sneaked up to her as she was patrolling and she was caught in a powerful genjutsu that made her see that Konoha was a threat to the safety of Fire Country. And so she powered through as much as she could before being sealed. The last part she told me, I decided to keep to myself for the moment. It seems she saw the eyes of the person who cast the genjutsu on her before she started moving towards Konoha. It was a pair of eyes that were red with three tomoe surrounding each pupil with lines connecting each one and the outer edges of the eyes. In other words, a fully awakened Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. I immediately knew that the person responsible was Uchiha Madara. Of course I knew this little detail already having read the manga.

After I finished, Sarutobi was shocked. I imagine that everything he thought he knew was just shattered and he was now trying to put the pieces back according to the new information he just gained. We then talked some more, mostly about the upcoming gennin exam. He then left saying that I would be fine tomorrow and that I would be discharged from the hospital as well.

* * *

The Next Day

After I was discharged from the hospital, I made my way to the place where Naruto stayed. The apartment complex was quite run down and shabby. It was even worse inside. This wasn't anything like the anime. Naruto did have a reasonable bed with a bedside set of drawers and a poster of the Leaf symbol behind the bed, but that's where the similarities ended. There were several holes in the roof which Naruto had done his best to patch up. The one window he had was broken which, thanks to skimming through his memories, was thanks to some of the villages. The only way to warm up the room was to have the stove on, and even then, most of the warm air floated out of the window.

I stood in slight awe at how Naruto managed to survive this. I felt Kyuubi stir in my mind.

"**Yes, it was quite bad,"** she said solemnly.

(Cue song Constructor's Blues by Mitsutoshi Sato from Gran Turismo 5 Prologue OST)

I them spotted a few things in the room that were not supposed to be there. I then realised that they were the things that I requested from Kami. Lying across the bed was a huge steal sword that looked exactly the same as Ragna's cleaver sword. There were only two differences. The first was it looked like there were 10 circle traces on the white blade near the handle. The second was where the red metal was supposed to be on the sword, there was crystal instead. The crystal was completely clear, as if empty.

Next to the sword were two chests, one larger than the other, and a large box. Next to them was what looked like a white Apple iPhone 4. And underneath was a letter. Thinking it would be wise to read the letter first, I picked it up and started to read.

_Dear Josh,_

_I would like the chance to say thank you for helping me with this problem. However I am needed elsewhere and so cannot say so in person. So I was able to call upon a favour from one of my friends that supervises another world. I was able to secure some artefacts that will help you in protecting you in the coming years. They are stashed in the small chest._

_In the large chest is your money from Earth converted to the currency of Ryo that exists on this world. I took the liberty of adding a little extra to help you. There is easily enough for you to fix up the room you now live in as well as buy extra equipment and so on._

_The phone is yours to contact your family as well as contact me if you run into any trouble you can't handle. Naruto's phone number is also on there if you ever want to talk to him. The phone also doubles as a scanner. You can scan something that you don't know of and the information will be downloaded from the Core Reference Database or CRD for short. The phone is also loaded with all your music from your computer from home. The box holds a little present from me to liven things up in your new house._

_The sword is special in four ways. One is that when you hold the handle, you instantly know how to handle the sword. This will only work for you. When you let go, the knowledge to do so will fade until you touch the handle again. The second is that this sword can only be wielded by you. The sword has a weight security alloy in it so if anyone but you tried to use it the sword would weigh in at several hundred tons. In the event that someone is able to pick it up, small blades have been fitted into the handle to release if anyone tries to use it. They are the gold metal pieces on the sword._

_The third is if you and Kyuubi want to, the sword will separate Kyuubi's soul and chakra and the soul will be drawn into the sword. Leaving you in complete control on the Kyuubi's youki. However know that doing so will most likely change you into a Kitsune hanyo. You also have to train your body in the youki so your body can withstand its effects. The upside of having Kyuubi in the sword is that, if you allow sone of her youki to enter the sword or allow her to access some on her own, she will be able to manifest herself beyond being just a sword. She'll be able to experiment. She'll definitely be able to change herself into her human hybrid form. But this process will only happen if you both consent to it. You can still use the sword without this happening if you don't want it to._

_And the fourth is what the sword is made out of. The blade is made out of White Mythril which is different from normal Mythril. It's the holy counterpart to the alloy. Black Mythril is the demonic side. White Mythril is completely indestructible and will allow you to store many types of energy inside it. And massive amounts too. It will work with all elemental types of chakra and youki. It will also work with your Ki. As you've seen, the red parts of the sword have been replaced with crystal. This is known as Calibur crystal, able to store a powerful spirit inside. This is where Kyuubi's spirit will stay. The crystals are removable if you want to use the sword and keep Kyuubi in her human hybrid form. However she won't be able to help you in the fight. For example if you throw your sword, she'll be able to direct it back to your hand, or manifest a huge clawed hand from the side to catch you opponents off guard. But it's up to you. The Calibur crystal needs to be removed if you ever want to get Kyuubi a permanent body. I will be able to help with that but I thought that this arrangement will be much better for the moment. Let me know if this changes._

_Keep me posted on any unusual developments. And good luck._

_Ken (Kami)_

_PS: It would be a good idea if you kept this whole soul fusion to yourselves for now, as I'm sure you've already told Kyuubi. But you can tell Sarutobi as I'm sure you'll need his help in the future. Call me if you need someone to support your story when you tell him._

After I read the letter, I was stunned for a few minutes. I think Kyuubi was too as she was silent inside me. When I got over my shock I picked up the iPhone 4 and turned it on. The layout was identical to my own phone but the background was different; showing a beautiful golden fox on a black background. I looked in the phonebook and there were three contacts; my mum, Naruto and Ken.

I then opened the large chest to see a large amount of Ryo paper bills stacked neatly inside; the smallest being a 1000 note. I then realised that the currency of Ryo to Aus dollar was that for every one ryo would equal one cent in Australian currency. I didn't bother counting the money as I would do that in my own time.

I then turned to the smallest chest and opened it. I was stunned again. Inside were smooth spheres of crystals. There were ten in all. Seven were green and three were red. Looking closely at one of the crystals I realised that these were actually Materia! There were Fire, Ice, Lightning, Restore, Time, Comet and Heal for the green spell materia. For the Red summon materia there was Shiva, Ifrit and Bahamut. Further information claimed that these materia could also be level upped with battle experience. Furthermore with the Shiva and Ifrit summons, if they levelled up they would simply get stronger, but if the Bahamut summon materia were to level up, the next dragon would be available to summon including the previous one. I was, right then, so thankful for this gift.

I then opened the box and grinned widely as I saw the multi-speaker system inside. The system looked like it was able to play the music on my iPhone. There were enough small speakers to wire the whole apartment complex with them. There was also a scroll with instructions stating that sealed inside were all the large speakers and subwoofers. One great thing about this system was that all the speakers were wireless and that the system could be controlled with the iPhone. Also each speaker could be turned off so only speakers that you wanted to play music, would. This feature was also controlled by the iPhone. It was awesome. The system also functioned as a PA system.

Next I hefted up the sword. It seemed to be about as heavy as a normal katana, but I could tell that the sword was extremely strong and durable. I also, like the letter said, knew how to wield it like a master.

Throughout all this Kyuubi was silent. 'Kyuubi, are you alright?' I asked in my mind.

"**Yes, I just need some time to think on this,"** she answered.

'I see… You know, I don't have any qualms about turning into a hanyo, and I wouldn't be at all stingy about giving you the chakra you need. Well, I'll just let you decide in your own time.'

There was a small silence. **"Thank you Josh-kun," **she thanked. Once again I didn't comment of the suffix.

I scanned Naruto's memory and realised that today was Sunday. Classes at the Academy started on Monday at 9:00 in the morning. Tomorrow was also the day before the Gennin exam. I still had plenty of time before night would fall so I decided to make a couple of calls; one to mum and one to Naruto. I called mum first. The dial tone rang a few times before the call connected and a familiar voice I thought I wouldn't hear for the rest of my life answered.

"_Hello, this is Jessica speaking."_

(Cue song Nocturne of Amestris ~Duet~ by Senju Akira from Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Original Soundtrack 2)

"U…um…," I stuttered, unable to from the words. Just hearing her voice was bringing tears to my eyes. "I-It's me, J-Josh," I managed to get out.

"…_Josh! Darling is that you?"_

It was then that I started crying very hard. Through the sobs I managed to confirm that it was me. For a few minutes I continued to cry but I started to recover and continued the conversation. It turned out that she and my step-dad were very happy living in their new home in Heaven. She told me that it was a lot like living on Earth, but with some differences. There was no need to work; food was ordered and was free, since when you are a spirit, you don't have to eat anymore, but for those that have just died, it's hard to let go of something so ingrained into your system as eating. So the food there was just a mental thing until you got used to living in Heaven. There was no need for money, no bills, car registrations, anything like that. Other then those things, it was pretty much the same. Mum had already anchored herself in the community where she lived.

I then explained my situation to her. She was quite surprised, but was glad I was doing well. I suggested that she didn't ring me since no-one here had a mobile phone so it would be rather hard to explain if she rang me in the middle of a mission. We then finished up saying that I would ring her soon and that I loved her.

I then rang Naruto and explained what had happened. He seemed quite curious as to what happened, but seemed very happy that he was now with his family consisting of Minato Namikaze, Kushina Uzumaki and all their relatives. He felt bad about leaving behind the old man but knew that this had to happen. I also said that I wouldn't be pursuing the one-sided relationship with Haruno Sakura. He whined for a bit but I put my foot down. We then finished up with me promising that I would keep him posted on new developments.

(Cue song Summer Breezin' by Diana King from Dead Or Alive Xtreme 2 OST)

After that I decided to walk around town for a bit, familiarise myself with the outlay of the village. As I past through the streets, I was shocked at the level of poisonous looks I received from the public. Somewhere in the memories I gained from Naruto's brain, I discovered that this was a little worse than most other days. I guess that the failed attempt on his life pissed the villagers off more than usual.

'Well, screw them!' I thought angrily as I came in sight of one of the few places that Naruto felt safe at. Ichiraku Ramen Stand. I parted the short curtains and sat myself down at the counter. Turned out I was the only person there. Ayame had her back turned to me and looked like she was washing dishes. The old man was round the back, cooking up some noodles. I knocked softly on the counter to gain Ayame's attention. She turned around and as soon as she saw me, her face lighted up and she smiled warmly. She seemed to be in her late teens. 18, maybe 19? Round that area.

"Ah Naruto-kun, how are you?" she asked kindly.

"Not too bad, just got out of the hospital," I said casually. But as soon as I said those words, Ayame's face stiffened, her eyes full of worry.

"Are you ok?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Made a full recovery. But to be on the safe side I think I'll just order a medium Chicken Ramen, please."

Ayame still looked worried but smiled anyways and nodded. "You got it!" she said a little enthusiastic. She turned around and called to her father. "Tou-san! One medium chicken ramen!"

The old man peeped over the low wall separating the serving area to the kitchen and spotted me. "Oh Naruto, what's been happening?"

"Nothing much," I replied, deciding not to talk about the incident. If Ayame's expression was anything to go by, then it was guaranteed that the old man would act the same way. I didn't want to worry them.

After 10 minutes the ramen was served and I started eating. However soon after I started eating, Ayame was looking at me again.

"What's up?" I asked.

She shook her head and replied, "Well, you're eating quite politely; usually you just shovel it in."

I mentally slapped myself. Of course Naruto gorged on his food. Seeing the same person eating with polished table manners would be a bit of a strange sight to her and others.

"Well," I said after swallowing the food in my mouth. "I've decided to turn over a new leaf. I'm now a new person." She bought the white lie and nodded. "Well, it is a relief that you now eat with moderation," she said with a smile.

As I continued to eat I felt someone's presence behind me. I turned around to see a goddess wrapped in red and white. Translation: Kurenai.

"Hello Kurenai-san. Did you come to sample one of the wonders of the world that is Ichiraku Ramen?" I asked.

"Something like that," she said with a small smile as she sat down next to me and ordered shrimp ramen.

"So, how do you know me?" she asked as she waited for her ramen.

"Yūhi Kurenai, Genjutsu Mistress and Ice Queen of Konoha. Graduated from the Academy at 9 and became a Chunin at 13. Recently promoted to Jounin. Known to dislike perverts almost fanatically, especially a certain one-eyed, Icha Icha Series reader. Blood Type: AB. Zodiac Star sign is Gemini. Favourite jutsu: Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death. Your hobby is drinking evening drinks such as sake. And your favourite phrase is 'Beauty fades quickly.'" Judging from her face I'd say that was right on the dot.

"H…How?" she stuttered out.

I looked at her. "Information is the most valuable resource to a ninja." I then looked directly into her red eyes. "And to make sure that you don't take that the wrong way, I meant it in a purely professional way." I finished my ramen and swallowed the last piece of chicken. I then removed some money that I had stuffed into the frog wallet and placed it next to the empty bowl.

"Well Kurenai-san, it was a pleasure meeting you. I hope to be part of your gennin team." And with that statement, I started off to my apartment.

As I opened the door to my apartment, Kyuubi spoke up. **"She was nice," **she said innocently. Maybe a little too innocently.

'What are you, bi?' I asked jokingly. However when she didn't answer after awhile I gaped mentally at her.

'What? Are you really bisexual?'

"…**Yes,"**

"Holy Kenobi!" I exclaimed out loud. I collapsed on the bed and looked up at the ceiling, completely surprised. I never would have thought that Kyuubi was bisexual.

"**Do you hate me for being so?"** she asked.

I was appalled. 'God no! A person's sexuality doesn't disgust me in the slightest. I was just a bit shocked that's all. I didn't think you were like that.'

"**Thank you for saying that. It means allot to me."**

I smiled to myself. Looking out of the window I saw that it looked to be about 6:00. 'I should get some rest. I'll need my sleep for tomorrow.'

And with that thought, I drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2: I'm Different!

Albums needed for this chapter: Azumanga Daioh Original Soundtrack, Dragonball Z: Trunks Compendium 1, Prince of Tennis Original Soundtrack 1, King of Bandits Jing: OST, Ah! My Goddess TV OST 2, Samurai Champloo OST - Departure.

**Chapter 2: I'm Different!**

(Cue song Osanpo desu by Kurihara Masaki from Azumanga Daioh Original Soundtrack)

I woke up to notice the sun hadn't risen yet, but there were faint signs that the sky would change soon. I stepped out to the small balcony that the place had and surveyed the area. It was almost totally silent. The only sounds were early business starting up; blacksmiths, breakfast café's and more. I stretched and headed back inside. The air was cool and refreshing; a slight breeze ruffling my hair.

Judging from the silence in my head, I guessed that Kyuubi was still asleep. I then picked up my phone and looked at the time.

'5:03 huh? Guess I should find my new place to meditate,' I thought as I discarded my pyjamas and cute sleeping cap. I looked at myself in the mirror, admiring my new body. I always suspected that Naruto was very well toned underneath the orange jumpsuit, and here was the evidence. The body was very well defined for a twelve year old. I was surprised to see a six-pack underneath the chest. The arms were quite muscled as well as the legs. I smirked before having a shower and getting dressed. As I did so, I resolved to get better clothes as soon as I graduated.

I finished up and walked back into the main room. Before I did anything else I slipped the Time materia into my side pocket, just in case. I then used the **Henge no Jutsu** **(Transformation Technique) **into the form of my alter-ego. He was 6'4" tall; had black spiky hair and steel grey eyes (I wanted to go for red, but that would probably be a little suspicious). He wore black cargo pants, white buttoned up shirt and black shoes. Over my eyes I wore a pair of dark sunglasses. I poked my head and was pleased that my finger came in contact with real hair and flesh. It meant that Naruto's **Henge** was real, like a **Kage Bunshin**. The normal **Henge** is only an illusion, so if you henged into someone taller than you, then the difference in height would be like a ghost; completely visible, but if you pressed your hand against it, the hand would go right through. Another difference was that Naruto's memories and my knowledge on handseals had essentially fused together, making me incredibly fast at handseals. I was probably as fast as a Jounin. Maybe even as fast as Kakashi.

I then picked up my keys and exited the building. I was on my way to the Hokage Monument. That was the perfect place to do my meditation. Back on earth, I used to set my alarm for quite early. I then would get up, get dressed and then go to my meditation spot. It was a small park that had a wonderful view of the city. So when the sun came up, the city was bathed in the golden light. Eventually I stopped using the alarm as I was getting up before the alarm went off.

As I continued on my way I passed a small western style café. I was a bit hungry at this point so I purchased a sausage and egg roll. The man serving me didn't notice my **Henge** and so I was able to get my breakfast without any trouble. I smiled slyly as I left, wondering why Naruto hadn't thought of this.

(Cue song Palace In the Clouds by Bruce Faulconer from Dragonball Z: Trunks Compendium 1)

By the time I'd finished the roll, I had arrived on top of the Fourth's head. I sat myself down and started to meditate. Occasionally I broke concentration to watch the sunrise over Konoha. It was breathtaking. Two hours later, I decided to practice using my bloodline limit.

I started small, practicing the exercise that Gohan showed to Videl when she was learning how to fly. I focused inside myself with my hands in my lap. After a few second I felt the small spark inside me. I was surprised at how I found it so quickly, but realised that I had just finished meditating. I then tried to mentally pull out the energy, into the area between my hands. A small wind started circulating around me and I opened my eyes to see that there was a small point of light. Pleased with this I tried to add more energy. The light grew and grew until there was a small tennis ball of glowing blue energy inside my hand. Slowly, I removed one hand and concentrated on making sure the ball stayed with my right hand. I then raised my right hand above my head and released my control of the energy. Immediately the ball of Ki floated away from my hand, slowly getting smaller and smaller until 2 minutes later and about five meters away, the point of light disappeared altogether.

I then dedicated the next hour to fully explore using my Ki energy. By the end of the hour I was able to create Ki energy balls the size found in the DragonBall Z anime. However the time used in actually creating said ball was still too long to be used as a quick draw in battle. But I could use it as a charge up attack. That was at least something. I also learned to project it faster, making the ball go roughly 1000 meters in one minute which converted to 60 kph. Which was very nice.

Aside from using Ki energy for attacks, I could also flare the energy for effect. Made me slightly stronger but that was about it. The most it could do would be to surprise the hell out of anyone who saw me flare my Ki, thinking it was chakra, as raw chakra dissipates quickly if not contained. Ki has no restrictions, and dissipates far less quickly.

As I was continuing to experiment, I felt Kyuubi waking from her slumber. 'Good morning Kyuubi. Did you sleep well?' I asked.

"**Fair enough. What have you been up to?"** she asked.

'Just testing out my bloodline limit, that's all," I replied. I was then hit with a realisation that today was the day that Naruto gave the Hokage Monument a make over. It was too late to do it physically but maybe…

'Kyuubi, do you know of any good genjutsus?' I asked. Kyuubi had picked up on where this particular train of thought would go and smiled mischievously.

"**Why yes Josh-kun, I do. What exactly did you have in mind?"

* * *

**

(Cue song Seishun Gakuen by WATABE Chieru from Prince of Tennis Original Soundtrack 1)

Thirty minutes later I walked into the homeroom for Iruka's class. I had removed the henge before I entered the classroom. When I arrived, the whole class was talking about something. They also were gathered at the windows of the room and were looking out at something. Inuzuka Kiba turned around to look at who just walked through the door and, seeing it was me, started laughing.

"How the hell did you pull this one off?" he said as he walked up to me, his arms crossed in front of his chest and smirking knowingly.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," I replied, sarcastically feigning innocence. Kiba's response was to blink slightly at the sarcastic essence in my response before he shook his head and pull me over to the window he had been looking out. I took a look outside.

This classroom had a wonderful view of the Hokage Monument. But right now the mountain looked a little different. The First looked like he was smoking a cigarette; the Second had what looked like a bottle of sake to his lips; the Third was giving off the peace sign and the Fourth had a massive grin on his face.

"Oh that," I said in a lazy tone. "Nothing much to it. Just a simple layer genjutsu."

By now everyone knew I was in the classroom. As soon as I explained the prank, all the talking stopped. I took this opportunity to look at everyone.

First was Sakura. She looked appalled at the idea of me doing this prank. No surprises there. Next was Ino. She at least looked slightly impressed. Hinata seemed nervous, but she was smiling slightly. 'Man, she's cute!' I thought before moving on.

Shikamaru had raised his eyebrow at me before slumping down onto the desk and closing his eyes. Chouji gave me the thumbs up before digging into a bag of potato chips. The only two that remained seating were Sasuke and Shino. Shino looked uninterested but I couldn't tell and Sasuke… well who cares about him. I wasn't surprised that Sasuke looked just as much of an emo douche muffin in real life as he did in the anime. At that moment however, Iruka walked into the room.

"Settle down!" he called out and everyone walked back to their seats. I decided to sit next up the back; next to Hinata. This drew some attention from some of the class. But it quickly wore off and class started. Hinata, however was quite rigid. Poor girl. I decided to make conversation with the Hyuuga princess before the rest of the class fell into order.

"Hey Hinata, you nervous about the gennin exam?" I asked. Her eyes widened slightly, as if she couldn't believe that I was talking to her.

"W, well, m-maybe just a l-little," she stuttered as she broke out into her little habit of pressing her forefingers together. 'Man she just looks so damn cute when she does that,' I thought.

"**Damn right," **agreed Kyuubi. Since she had now 'come out of the closet' she was more outgoing about her sexuality.

"Well, I'm nervous too. But you'll get through, no problems." It was here I decided to shut up, since Hinata looked like she was going to pass out if I continued. Pity.

"All right. Now I'm sure you know about the Hokage Monument situation. I want to ask you if you know anything about who did it?" asked Iruka. Even though he was talking to the entire class, I felt the question directed at me. But it seemed that luck wasn't being kind to me as the pink haired bitch decided to snitch on me.

"It was Naruto! Naruto did it!" she shouted out. I slapped my face to my forehead in disgust. I would have pulverised her with my bloodline limit if I wasn't still working out the kinks. However I stayed where I was. I would have my revenge on her later.

Iruka looked at me with no surprise at all. "Naruto, would you like to confirm what Sakura just said?" he asked; going through the motions anyways.

I sighed. "Well since Miss. Forehead-the-size-of-The-Valley-of-the-End has decided to turn me in," I said, making a few people snigger despite my insult to my supposedly one true love, "I might as well confess. Yes, I did it." It seemed Iruka wasn't expecting this answer from me. Clearly he thought I would deny everything, or bask in the glory of creating such a prank. But this did not stump him for long as he grinned quite evilly.

"Well, thanks to Naruto, everyone has to review the **Henge no Jutsu**!" Cue massive groans.

The review went along as normal as it could. At least until it was my turn. Again I grinned evilly and Kyuubi started to crack up, realising what I was going to. I walked up to the front and henged into Iruka. Everyone was floored as they saw me flash through the seals at the speed of light, coupled with the fact that they all thought I would use the**Oiroke no Jutsu** **(Sexy T****echnique****)**. Iruka looked even more shocked as he had seen my grin. But as they all started to get over their shock, I pulled the prank.

(Cue song Dragon paw by Scudelia Electro from King of Bandits Jing: OST)

I henged into Sasuke and said in as much of a homosexual voice as I could muster, "The only reason I act so super emo is that I'm secretly super gay!"

The silence that followed was absolutely deafening. However the ice broke when all, excluding Hinata of course, of the girls in the class fainted all at once. That was followed by Kiba literally howling with laughter, most of the guys sniggering loudly (even Shino!), Hinata giggling softly before placing her hands in front of her mouth in shock and embarrassment (however I could tell she was still smiling) and Sasuke himself getting up and walking over to pulverise me. However I just grinned and turned back to myself before sticking my hand inside my pocket and secretly activating the Time materia slightly so it wouldn't draw much attention. I then felt time slow down to slomo speed, roughly half of normal speed. I realised that I had activated the **Haste** spell. I saw Sasuke's fist coming toward me in a right hook. I easily sidestepped the emo and watched him sail past me, collide with Sakura who was just waking up, and watched the drama that involved Sakura holding onto Sasuke, chanting about how Sasuke finally accepted what his heart had been telling him and Sasuke struggling to break away from the fanatic fan-girl.

After another five minutes of this very amusing scene, Iruka was able to sort out the whole thing and class was back to normal. But most of the girls were glaring daggers into my head, including Sasuke. A few people were confused as to how I dodged the punch when probably a few days ago that punch would have hit dead centre. Among these select few was Shikamaru, who kept shooting me curious glances.

By the time lunch came around, all the girls (minus Hinata) looked ready to murder me, so I used the Haste spell again to easily outrun them and hide somewhere safe. I was behind several sheds that housed all the training equipment. Here I waited for several minutes before relaxing slightly.

(Cue song Time To Hack by Hamaguchi Shirou from Ah! My Goddess TV OST 2)

As I sat there, wondering what to do, I realised that Naruto had almost no control over his chakra. The only reason that he could do the henge was because he had upgraded to what was know as the quad layered **Henge** or **Kage Henge**. A henge that had physical properties; like a **Kage Bunshin**. Naruto was barely able to use **Kawarimi no Jutsu** **(Replacement Technique)** and the **Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Technique)** was completely impossible with Naruto's skills at the moment. This wasn't any fault of Naruto's. The first and most obvious was the fact that Naruto had titanic chakra reserves. One of the only ways of fully comprehending Naruto's reserves was to compare it to water. A normal Genin fresh out of the Academy would have about a large pool's worth. A Chuunin would have a small lake. A Jounin would be a large lake and a Hokage would have roughly as much water as the Amazon River would carry. But Naruto's was on the verge of a small sea. That's right! A small friggin sea! Like the Red Sea on Earth. And that was without Kyuubi's youkai which would equal the Pacific Ocean! Sorry; getting a little off track.

The second and probably the most to do with reason is that he had no one to learn from. From the memories I accessed it seamed that no Academy sensei (teacher) would teach him properly in the event that he would be killed from this lack of information. And all because he carried the Kyuubi. Even Iruka was harsher on him then on other students; however his actions were less than the other teachers. Plus Iruka was tougher on Naruto because he could relate to Naruto, minus the Kyuubi in your gut, because he was an orphan as well.

I then recalled an episode when Kakashi taught the three Genin their first chakra control exercise; Tree Walking. The exercise was simple enough. You coated chakra onto the bottom of your feet and then proceed to walk up the side of a structure. The chakra on your feet would enable them to stick to the surface so you could spidey walk up the side of a building. However adding too little will make your feet slip while too much will repel yourself off the surface. You could also apply the same exercise to speed yourself up while running or help you when you jump from tree to tree, ninja style.

With an exercise to do while waiting for the lunch hour to finish, I began to practice on the side of the shed. By the end of the hour I could walk very slowly up the side of the shed. I was surprised that I caught on so quickly, but then realised that while Kakashi had vaguely explained the exercise, I knew most if not all of the information. I then returned to the classroom early, not wanting to be caught up in the rush back.

(Cue music silence)

When I entered the classroom I saw that there were a few people there. Hinata, Chouji and Shikamaru were siting in the same seats as before. Deciding that it would be best if I didn't sit next to Hinata because she might faint by something I might accidentally do (having a twenty four year old mind in a 12 year old body didn't help), I sat next to Shikamaru with Chouji on the opposite side of him. I then waited patiently for Iruka to arrive.

While I waited I noticed that Shikamaru was still looking at me curiously from time to time. After a while I got fed up.

"Spit it out, or is it too troublesome?" I asked.

Shikamaru looked to be thinking about the choice before he gave in to his curious side. "You've been acting strange today. Why is that?" he asked.

I smirked. "It would be too troublesome to tell you," I replied in as close to the tone he usually uses when he says that as I could. Shikamaru snorted slightly before his lazy side overcame his brain. "Well it would be troublesome to know probably," he said back before resting his head on the desk. I also closed my eyes and rested a little before the second half of the day began.

It wasn't long before Iruka walked into the room and addressed the class. In that short time I had been ambushed repeatedly by Sasuke crazed fan-girls. However I felt them coming toward me and so I just opened my eyes and shot them a very cold look that froze each one in their place for a second before I stopped and they walked to their original places. It was amusing to say the least. Especially Sakura, her eyes were wide when I unleashed my death glare on her.

The last half of the day consisted of History and reviewing for tomorrow's Genin test. Surprisingly, Naruto's memories told me that he knew all of these answers. I guess Naruto was smarter then he let others know. The History lesson was about Kyuubi's 'invasion' into Konoha. Throughout the whole lesson I was smirking mentally at what was said. I started dozing off in the lesson slightly but awoke when Iruka spoke to me.

"Naruto! Since you seem to know the lesson already," he said, earning a snigger from most of the class, "Maybe you could tell us how Yondaime defeated the demon Kyuubi?" The whole class waited for an answer that the old Naruto would say. (Probably something Ramen related) However Naruto was now different. I was Naruto.

"No-one knows precisely but evidence points to the Fourth using a self-sacrificing jutsu to defeat the Kyuubi," I said calmly.

Iruka looked slightly put off by the answer that he clearly wasn't expecting. He then narrowed his eyes slightly. "You mean killed, not defeated," he said.

My eyes gleamed as I decided to scare him a little for fun. Kyuubi waited in anticipation for what I would say.

"Well, no one really knows for sure, do they?" I asked, directing my voice to the whole class instead of just Iruka. "Sure there's no sign of the Kyuubi after the Fourth used his jutsu, but what kind of jutsu was it? What did it do exactly? And another thing, what could someone who was by all standards, a human, do to _the_ Lord of Demons, who's power was said to be astronomical compared to even a Hokage?" I would have continued but the bell rang, signalling that it was time to leave.

"Now remember everyone! The Genin Exam is tomorrow. Make sure you practice everything you've learnt in preparation for tomorrow," said Iruka as everyone began tiding up and moving out of the room. "Naruto, would you stay behind please?" asked Iruka, although his tone said it as an order rather then a question. Sighing I sat down in my seat and watched as the students filed out. I caught a glimpse of Hinata as she looked back at me. She looked worried. I smiled and mouthed 'I'll be fine,' before she left.

"So what's up?" I asked when everyone had left.

"You are going to fix the Hokage Monument before I let you out of my sight Naruto," said Iruka.

"Right, right…" I said.

* * *

Ten minutes later I was standing in front of the monument. I glanced at Iruka before focusing chakra into my hand. When I had the right amount I clicked, releasing the chakra as I did so. Above me, the image of the Hokage's wavered before phasing out altogether.

I looked back to a stunned Iruka. "Well now that that's done, I'm outta here." With that statement I began to walk away but Iruka's voice stopped me.

"Wait, Naruto,"

I turned around and waited.

"How bout I treat you to ramen? You know, the good stuff," he asked. I thought about it for a moment before answering.

"Ok, Iruka-sensei," I said and we made our way to Ichiraku Ramen. I ducked under the flaps and called out, "Hiya guys!"

(Cue song How You Feel by Fat Jon from Samurai Champloo OST - Departure)

Ayame was in the front washing dishes when she looked up and smiled when she saw me. 'She's really cute, but in a mature way as she is physically older than me,' I thought with Kyuubi in agreement. **"I think so too. Simple, yet beautiful in her own right." **To hear Kyuubi compliment her was huge in itself as no one could hold a candle to the kitsune herself.

"Welcome back Naruto-kun," she said happily. "What's your order today?"

"I'll have two large bowls of chicken ramen please," I asked politely, earning a raised eyebrow from the scarred one beside me at how different I sounded. He seemed to shake it off when Ayame asked for his own order.

Nothing was said while we waited for our food. That was just fine as I was contemplating why I had asked for two large bowls instead of one. It seemed that the business of fusing a new soul to an old body was more then just shoving the two together. I had begun to feel my personality change slightly. I theorised that the brain had created a back-up of Naruto's personality in his memories. Now that his memories and mine were being drawn closer and closer as the fusion was applying the finishing touches, I felt like I was slowly becoming Naruto himself. But I still retained most of what made up me, like my sometimes sarcastic attitude. Naruto could be sarcastic if he wanted but it wasn't ingrained into his personality. This also meant that his obsession with ramen was also becoming part of me. I doubt I would ever eat as much as he in one sitting, but there was definitely a growing difference.

Our food arrived and I began to get stuck into my ramen. I agree that ramen was very delicious but I would never have it so often as Naruto. I felt someone looking at me and I turned to see Iruka looking at me strangely.

"What's up?' I asked casually.

"Oh, nothing. Just that you usually wolf your food down within a matter of seconds. I was just wondering why the change," he asked.

"Well its not like the food is going anywhere so I've decided to slow down and enjoy the taste more," was how I replied.

Iruka nodded before getting into the serious matter. "Naruto why did you do that to the Hokage Monument?" he asked.

"Well I think that they make the faces too stiff and serious. So I just livened things up a little. The image was to show people that even though those four were, and still are, Hokages, they are also human beings. Humans who like everyone else, like to have a good time. So I made them look like they were all in a pub somewhere, acting like regular people. Being called the Hokage makes you seem like you can't have fun every now and then. But that's not the way it is at all. Hokage's need fun too. It keeps you sane, especially in a world full of death and pain," I replied as I polished off the noodles.

Iruka was floored at my words. I don't think he ever expected something so mature to come out of the class clown. "Since when did you have a brain?" he asked.

I grinned at him. "Deception is a ninja's greatest asset. You're the one who told us that Iruka-sensei. And besides," I paused to drink the broth. "Foxes are masters of illusions."

Iruka's eyes widened as he connected all the pieces from the Kyuubi question in the classroom to what I just said. "You mean that… you know?" he said carefully.

"You'll have to talk to the Hokage about that, as what I told him is probably an S-ranked secret by now. But thanks to your personal relationship with him as well as me, I'm sure that the old man'll tell you," I replied before starting my second bowl.

Iruka looked a little nervous as he finished off his own bowl of ramen. I then stopped looking at him from the corner of my eye to focusing on the food in front of me. It wasn't the first time that I had eaten with chopsticks but I still hadn't mastered the technique yet. We were silent for the rest of the meal.

"Ah, that was nice!" I exclaimed as I stacked the second bowl on top of the first one. I stopped Iruka when I saw him reaching for his wallet. "Don't worry, it's on me tonight," I said before getting my own wallet and extracting the money out. 'I need to get a new wallet. Having a frog wallet doesn't suit me,' I thought as I placed the money next to the bowls. I then henged into my alter-ego before looking at Iruka. "Have a good night Umino-san," I said respectfully before parting the flaps and ducking under them; walking at a steady pace to my apartment. Leaving a shell-shocked dolphin behind.


	3. Chapter 3: The Training Room

Albums needed for this chapter: Kingdom Hearts Piano Collections, Erementar Gerad OST 1, NARUTO Shippuuden Original Soundtrack, Dragonball Z: Trunks Compendium 1, Need for Speed: High Stakes OST.

**Chapter 3: The Training Room**

(Cue song 1st Mov. : Sora - Allegro con brio by Miwa Sato from Kingdom Hearts Piano Collections)

The morning saw me running around Konoha. I figured that I still needed to keep in shape and not slack off like I used to back home. It seemed that another part of Naruto and my own personalities had fused again last night as when I woke up I had a desire to train intensively, a drive I certainly didn't have before. I was actually quite shocked as to how much morning training Naruto actually did. His morning exercises included 500 push-ups, 500 sit-ups, 500 log kicks, 500 log punches, 500 chin-ups and finally run roughly 10 km around Konoha. No wonder Naruto looked so fit. The 500 of each type of exercise was done quite quickly as Naruto was already used to doing this. And so here I was, finishing up my run around the village after my two hour session of meditation, an hour session of practising my usage of Ki energy and two hours of physical training. By the end I had cut roughly a fifth of yesterday's time to summon Ki for attacks. Seemed that I would be able to use the energy as quick attacks by the end of the week. I was a little slumped that I couldn't use it against Kakashi when the test would come around but you couldn't always have what you wanted.

I had never really realised how big Konoha actually was until now. I had played quite a few Naruto games but it was the last three that allowed you to explore Konoha as a free roam world. They were Naruto: Rise of a Ninja, Naruto: The Broken Bond and Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm. The last one was especially good. But actually being here and experiencing the village for myself was right on the other side of the spectrum. It wasn't even a Village really. More like a small city. It was breathtaking. Quite a few people would love to be in this position. Hell, a few thousand would love to actually own Materia, but that was beside the point. Said point was that I was the luckiest person alive to be in this position. However from now on it was going to get harder as I recalled everything I had learnt from the anime and manga. I shivered at the thought of Pain's assault on Konoha and the Fourth Great Shinobi War. I would still love it.

I had started at 3:30 so by the time I had finished my several new additions to my morning ritual it was near 8:30. Thank god there were several tower clocks around for me to keep track of the time. So I changed direction and jogged up Main Street to cool down as I made my way to the Academy. As I was jogging I realised that I didn't need as much sleep as I did before I came here. I went to sleep at 9:00 pm and woke up at 3:00 am, getting 6 hours of sleep. I guess Naruto's body and mind was used to sleeping less but still being refreshed in the morning. Maybe it was a by-product of having Kyuubi inside me. I was still in my **Kage Henge** so there were no cold and hateful stares from the villagers. A fact I was thankful for. Ducking into a shop to get some Dango as I would need the sugar for the upcoming test, I accidentally knocked into someone, breaking my concentration on the **Kage Henge**, dispelling it. I backed off and immediately began to apologise while bowing. When I looked up I winced. In front of me was none other than Mitarashi Anko.

'Shit!' I thought to myself, waking Kyuubi.

"**Wha…? What's happening?"** she asked in a cute tired voice until I assumed she looked through my eyes. **"Shit!"** she repeated.

Meanwhile Anko looked totally pissed until she saw my face. Her scowl softened to a small frown before she bonked me lightly on the head. "Watch where you're going next time kid," she warned. My mouth opened slightly in shock. I thought she would slick her snakes on me for sure. I franticly furrowed through Naruto's unfused memories and realised that in Naruto's past, she had saved him several times from villagers and ninja alike.

"I'm sorry Anko-san but I was on my way to the Academy but thought it would be best to grab some Dango for breakfast," I explained. Anko's frown turned into a small smile. "Dango eh?" she said before looking at the shopkeeper who, after realising who I was, was looking at me poisonously. "I'll have another two dango," she ordered. The shopkeeper broke his 'throwing daggers' look at me to nod towards Anko. He then took out two dango and passed them to her. She in turn gave one to me.

"There ya go kid," she said. "Now get going! You don't want to be late do ya?" I nodded before running out of the store and sprinting down the road once more.

'That was weird,' I thought as I chowed down on the sugary snack.

"**Not really as Anko has said hi to Naruto on more then one occasion," **filled in Kyuubi.

'Then why did you say 'shit' as well?' I asked.

"**Because she looked extremely pissed; not someone you want to piss of. I'm just glad the Kage Henge was dispelled after you collided with her or we would've been in deep crap."**

'Same here,' I agreed as we came in sight of the Academy. As soon as I walked into the classroom I realised that I was late.

"Damn," I muttered as everyone inside looked in my direction. Iruka was also there. And looking at the clock it said 9:05.

"Sorry I'm late. Was doing some last minute training," I half lied. Iruka simply nodded before he continued what he was telling the class. As he talked, I made my way to the only seat available, next to Hinata. I didn't mind at all. I just hoped that my presence didn't cause the girl to lose her concentration. The room had a rather peculiar air about it today. Anxiety was so thick that it was almost visible to the naked eye. Yet an undercurrent of excitement and determination gave the atmosphere a definite charge.

(Cue song Kaze no Kuruma by Kajiura Yuki from Erementar Gerad OST 1)

"Today is this year's annual gennin exam," said Iruka. He looked around at the class to gauge everyone's reactions. I looked around too. They all appeared collected; a few seemed to be a little nervous. Uchiha Sasuke fixed him with a confident smirk.

"I expect all of you to do well. For many of you, this is your first time taking the exam. For those of you who are taking it for a second time, I hope the extra practice has prepared you sufficiently.

"The exam will consist of a short written exam, which I'm sure many of you have prepared for. However, this will only count for 1/6 of the test. The majority of the test will be outside, when it comes to shuriken and kunai targeting counting for 1/6 each, as well as ninjutsu test in bunshin, Kawarimi, and henge each counting for 1/6 themselves. You will need at least 4/6, or 66 in order to pass the exam.

"This test is to make sure that you have the minimum proficiency in academy level skills. An ideal ninja would be able to get 100 percent on tests, showing proficiency in all areas. However, that is a little much to expect of a genin fresh out of the academy, so we are more forgiving. All genin who pass this exam however are expected to practice the skills they did poorly in until they have complete mastery over the skill," he continued.

I looked at Iruka as the Chunnin instructor walked to the door of the classroom to answer a knock. "Today Mizuki-sensei will be helping me proctor the test to make sure none of you are cheating, and to make sure everything goes by quickly and smoothly." announced Iruka.

'That traitor!' I thought darkly. He had shoulder length silver hair, and had a ready smile for most of the class. He waved to them and gave them a simple "Good luck everyone. Hopefully by tomorrow you will all be genin."

With that, Iruka and Mizuki divided up the tests and began to hand them out to the class. There were three different versions of the test, each person on a table had a different version to prevent cheating. I got version C. It seemed that Hinata had version B.

"You have exactly 45 minutes to finish this test." announced Iruka, looking at his watch. "Mizuki and I will be walking amongst you to make sure nobody is cheating."

(Cue song Mission by Takanashi Yasuharu from NARUTO Shippuuden Original Soundtrack)

I ducked my head and looked at the questions. They were fairly simple, if the first three of them were any measurement.

#1. State ninja rule number 25, and explain its importance to today's ninja's in the field.

#2. Explain what chakra is.

#3. Explain what a Hokage is, and what important role this person fulfills in the Fire Country.

'Easy,' I thought as I started writing. When I had finished the 20th question I still had 10 minutes to spare. As I flipped my test sheet over I decided to look around to see how everyone else was doing. Shikamaru was sleeping on his desk, the pencil beside him. Chouji was filling out the questions pretty easily it seemed, taking his time with each one and eating a bag of potato chips in between questions.

Shino and Hinata were already done, and Kiba was smirking as he wrote his answers down. Sakura, Ino and Sasuke were all already finished as well. I knew though that the ninjutsu would crush a lot of hopefuls, as would the targeting test. After the test we all walked outside to complete the targeting in the training grounds. We lined up and were all told to have 5 shuriken and 5 kunai ready. We each stepped up in turn and tried to hit the 5 bullseyes on the targets for each of the weapons.

I rolled my eyes when Sasuke decided to show off and throw all five of each at the same time, 5 kunai with one hand and 5 shuriken with the other, and nailed all of the targets.

"Sasuke-kun is so cool!" squealed Sakura. I blinked several times and twisted a finger inside my ear to get rid of the ringing.

It was now my turn. I desperately wanted to ace the exam but realised that I wouldn't get asked to steal the scroll if I passed. So I launched my shrunken first, then my kunai, making sure that most would miss. But I made sure that some hit the targets. I grimaced as I heard laughing and jeers of "Dobe!" and "Nice aim, dead-last!" from the student body. Sticking to the story was hard work!

When the class calmed down, we were all told to line up in the hallway outside the regular classroom while each student stepped inside to complete testing. As my name was called, I took a step inside to see Iruka and Mizuki sitting and smiling at me.

"Okay Naruto, you know the drill. I'm going to need you to perform a Henge to look like me, a Kawarimi, as well as 2 bunshin." said Iruka.

I nodded and performed the Henge. Iruka nodded and marked something down on his clipboard. After the kawarimi, it was the same thing.

'And now for the bunshin,' I thought as I created the seal, making sure that I didn't apply the chakra control I gained from the tree walking exercise as well as flood the jutsu with the blue energy. I poof of smoke later and there was a clone out cold next to me. It did look quite a bit less sickly then in the anime but nevertheless it acted as a legit fail. Iruka made sure of that as he shouted the two words at me.

'Asshole. He didn't have to yell them at me,' I thought.

"**Mmm hmm,"** nodded the cute vixen in my belly.

I toned out the little conversation between Mizuki and Iruka and as they finished I walked out of the room as dejectedly as possible.

I sat on the swing by the academy and watched my fellow classmates celebrating their graduation with their families. It was probably one of the only times you'll ever see certain families in the same area without starting a huge argument.

I saw Kiba prancing around, singing his own praises while what could only be his mother and sister took turns trying to calm him down some, the quiet Aburame off in one of the more quiet areas, the Akimichi loudly making plans for a big barbeque party that night. Sadly no-one was there for Hinata. No doubt Hiashi couldn't be bothered coming to his own daughter's graduation. What an asshole.

"Great job, son. Your old man is proud!" I heard another voice laugh as I began to get discouraged, the Naruto side feeling sad while my side reminded why I messed up. "So now, we're all adults!" One of my classmates whooped. "Congratulations on graduating! Tonight, mom's gonna cook up a feast!" That one hit me especially hard as even though my Mum was only a phone call away, I wouldn't be able to celebrate with her anymore. That thought made me very sad.

"Hey, isn't that the kid who-?" an older girl asked. I knew she was talking about me. "Yeah, that's him. The only one who failed!" another girl's voice answered. I smirked inwardly as I knew that would change by tomorrow. "Serves him right…" "Can you imagine if they let someone like that become a shinobi…?" "Loser…" "Don't even go there."

Realising that I had to get away before I did something irreversible, I got up from the swings and dashed off somewhere, anywhere but here. It wasn't until I had gotten quite far away that I realised that I had forgotten to wait for the traitor.

"Shit!" I swore, not caring that there maybe others around before jumping up onto a rooftop to think about what to do next. I couldn't go back as I would almost assuredly try to deck someone. But it seemed that luck decided to swing my way.

(Cue music silence)

"Naruto," I heard a soft voice call as someone landed beside me. I finally turned to give Mizuki a bit of a look. Silver hair cut to his shoulders, a kind, soft face, and the regular Chuunin outfit made it easy to see why the girls in class gave their attention to him whenever Sasuke was unavailable.

"Iruka-sensei is a really serious guy… His parents died when he was young, so everything he's accomplished he's done by himself, with a lot of hard work and discipline," Mizuki said softly, turning with a kind smile to me.

Inside I was ecstatic that I was still contacted by Mizuki but outwardly I just shrugged. "So? What's that got to do with me?"

"So you remind him of himself." Mizuki laughed gently. "He thinks he's helping you to grow strong. Try to give the guy a break… Can't you understand where he's coming from? …One orphan to another...?"

I smirked evilly inside. 'Just one more push,' I thought as I prepared my voice. "But… I really wanted to graduate this time." I said in as much of a broken voice as I could manage.

Mizuki smiled. "Then… I guess there's no choice. Let me tell you a secret that I've been keeping for a very long time…"

'**S**u**c**k**e**r,**"** both Kyuubi and I said as the same time inside my mind.

* * *

Before I set out I brought along my sword and Materia, just in case. I had very little trouble sneaking into the Hokage's house, for all the trouble this was supposed to be. Even when I was caught by the Hokage himself, all that was needed was the** Oiroke no Jutsu** (my version was a naked Myuria from Star Ocean 4), and I was able to get the scroll and get out.

I landed in the clearing that Mizuki told me about and quickly got to work on the **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**. Surprisingly I got it in one shot. Even though I used the newly gained chakra control I was still surprised.

Scrolling down the scroll further was a jutsu that would be very useful in the future. It was called **Tekkai. **It was a word activated jutsu that used massive amounts of chakra to make muscles and skin as hard as steel. This was a little harder but I was able to get it down after an hour of training. Near the end, before the **Shiki Fuujin,** was not a technique, but a sealed item. The only thing it had to say about this was that its origins and its uses were unknown. Curious I unsealed it.

There, lying on the top of the paper was an object that at first glance looked like a watch. But as I looked closely I saw that where you could normally see the time, there was just blackness. I buckled the watch thingy around my wrist and touched the black surface.

Instantly white exploded around me and I felt myself pass through a massive amount of air before it stopped and I looked around. Instantly I realised that I had been transported. But to where?

(Cue song Time Chamber by Bruce Faulconer from Dragonball Z: Trunks Compendium 1)

My first thought was that I had somehow died and had gone to heaven. I was in the middle of a huge white expanse, but it didn't feel like simply nothing. It felt like I was just inside a massive circular room. It was daunting to see so much white.

"Where are we?" I asked out loud.

"**I have no idea…" **said Kyuubi.

I took one step and immediately noticed something rising out of the floor. As soon as whatever it was had stopped, I took a closer look at it. It was some sort of flat panel screen, like what you see in some sci-fi films. At the moment there was nothing displayed on the screen. Having nothing else to do I stepped forward and touched the panel hesitantly.

Instantly the screen flashed into life. Several lines of text appeared on the screen. The characters were in a language I didn't understand, but the symbols looked futuristic. I stood there, not knowing what to do for a few seconds before a green laser field swept over my face. I realised that it was scanning me.

As soon as it had finished the screen flashed once before another set of lines appeared, only this time it was in English.

Welcome to Training Room 29. To start your training please select your 'Time Compression Ratio' please.

Underneath were several ratios. They seemed to range from 1 minute: 1 minute, to 1 minute: 1 month.

'What is this?' I wondered.

"**I think we're in an Artificial Time Dimension," **said Kyuubi after several seconds.

'A what?'

"**An 'Artificial Time Dimension' or ATD for short. It's a man-made dimension where advanced computers and electronics control the flow of time from the physical plane or Ningenkai,"** explained the vixen.

'Oh,' I said before I remembered something like this before. 'I see. It's kinda like the Hyperbolic Time Chamber from DragonBall Z.'

"**What's the Hyperbolic Time Chamber?"** asked Kyuubi.

'It's a time dimension where you can spend a whole year in a day. But the time ratio was fixed.'

"**Oh,"** was all Kyuubi had to say.

Realising that the screen was still waiting for a command to be chosen I pressed the 1 minute: 1 week button. The whiteness around me seemed to get brighter for a few seconds before going back to normal. I looked back to the screen to see something different.

Thankyou. Your ID has been saved and your Time Compression Ratio set.

Which background would you like simulated?

There were a bunch of new options like 'Large City' and 'Beach'. There were also choices like 'Dojo' and 'Island'. Next to all these choices were small pictures of what they looked like. After scrolling through some I found the perfect spot. It was called 'Sanctuary' and looked like a large grassy clearing in a forest with a small waterfall and a large flat stone on the grass. There was also Advanced Options but I didn't bother with that. I pressed the button and watched as the new world fell into place around me.

At first there were just streams of pixels running down like rain. But then the Pixel rain fell harder and harder, filling up the whiteness with brilliant colour. And what a sight it was. The field was beautiful, emerald green grass. There were soft green trees surrounding the perimeter of the clearing. The waterfall gushed crystal clear water where it pooled in an even half circle against the light grey stone cliff. A low platform of the same rock was placed near the centre of the clearing. Above me was a cerulean blue sky with large fluffy clouds dancing across. There was no sun but the whole place was lit as it there was one.

"Wow…" I breathed as I took it all in. I looked to the waterfall again and saw that there was a door etched into the cliff. Making my way over I placed my hand on the stone and watched as the slab swung inwards. I walked in and got the surprise of my life.

Inside was what looked like the interior of a rich western styled house. Rich polished wood made up the walls. Walking further inside I noticed that the whole space was split up into 5 rooms, a living room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and laundry room. Each room was fitted with all the things I would need. I walked into the kitchen and saw pots and pans hanging from above. There was a large fridge, freezer, sink, appliances and more. Taking a peek inside the fridge I looked in awe as the shelves inside were full to bursting with fresh vegetables, milk, spreads, and more.

The other rooms were just as spectacular. The bedroom had a very soft queen sized bed and everything you would expect to see in a hotel bedroom. The living room had pictures hanging up on the walls. Looking closer I realised that they were parts of my memories. The bathroom had a massive spa bath built into the floor. And the laundry room had a front load washer and drier inside.

"Holy shit…" I said softly.

"**I know. Really blows your mind,"** said Kyuubi in the same manner.

'I wonder where this 'Training Room' actually is?' I wondered.

"**Well the humans of this world are several millions of years old as a race. At one point a group of people lived here. Their technology was unrivalled by anything anyone else created. Nobody remembers who they were called anymore so we just call them the Ancients,"** explained Kyuubi.

'Just had to be the most generic name you guys knew eh?' I asked.

"**What?"**

'Never mind,' I corrected, realising that I had said something that referenced Earth. Calling a race of beings 'Ancients' was the oldest name in the book. 'Well, since we have a week in here we might as well train.'

"**Good idea."**

(Cue song Bulbulous Swirl by Saki Kaskas from Need for Speed: High Stakes OST)

The next week I trained in using my sword and getting used to handling the blade. I also trained with my materia, Ki energy, tree walking and water walking. By the end of the week I could cast Fire, Blizzard, Thunder, Cure, Haste, Poizona and Comet effectively. I had decided that I wouldn't use the names like Fire 2 or Bolt 3. Instead I would use the naming system that has been in use from Final Fantasy 8. I also realised that my materia wouldn't level up in this environment.

Each spell worked better for different situations. Blizzard was useful against slow targets as the spell wasn't a projectile. Just a chunk of ice that formed above the targets head. Useful as a distraction. The spell was slow, but strong. Thunder was also a non-projectile spell as the bolt of lightning struck out of the sky. But the Thunder spell was very quick, making it useful against quick enemies. However it lacked power. Fire was a projectile spell and was more of an all rounder in terms of speed and strength. Cure worked as a substitute to a soldier pill. Wasn't as effective as it didn't replace used chakra, but removed fatigue permanently until you got tired again. Cure also took care of minor wounds; anything from scratches to a cracked rib. Haste actually had a timed effect. Roughly 30 seconds unless you pump in less chakra then what you needed. I scanned the Heal materia with my phone and saw that the stages were Esuna, Dispel and Regen. Comet served as an area demolition spell as it spawned a single meteor that smashed into the earth. The destruction left behind was roughly 50 meters in diameter. According to the Phone scan there were a few higher stages to unlock so I assumed that the new spells would range from several small meteors being spawned to a really large one that was to be used only to while out an entire village. (Like the Sound Village. Not suggesting it. Yet.)

Using the sword was easier then I first thought. Thanks to the fact that it weighed as much as a typical steel katana, the sword was incredibly easy to wield. It felt like I was wielding a katana. This would help in making quick strikes. However since I was so short at this time, I would not be able to use the sword to its fullest. Thankfully I discovered something that helped me with that.

The watch thing I was wearing had one more secret. Seemed it contained a sword, but this sword was completely different from my own. When the sword was released from the watch thing, it was constructed out of thin air. It looked like when Violet's sword came out from the movie Ultraviolet. The sword even looked like Violet's sword. A thin rectangular blade with hundreds of small glyphs running down each side of the blade. The handle was black and looked to be made out of a weird plastic metal hybrid composite. On the handle was a small button. At first, when I pressed it, I thought nothing had happened. But after moving my hand in front of my face quickly, I realised that my hand flickered like a bad TV channel. I held my hand still and the flickering stopped, leaving my hand completely invisible. Looking down at my body I realised that it was also invisible. I then realised that the sword had a cloaking device inside it. If I moved slowly enough, I could stay invisible. But if I moved too quickly the cloak would break apart which would result in the cloak acting like a bad channel on an digital TV. I also realised that the ability to wield it was also imbedded inside the sword like with my own. Later I discovered that it also negates other affects like creating footprints, air effects, and chakra signature.

Doing the chakra control exercises went by quickly as well thanks to the **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**. Tree walking was mastered in a few hours to the point where it became automatic. It was the same for water walking but that took several hours. But thanks to the exercises I now was able to use the correct amount of chakra to produce proper **Bunshin** that didn't look like it would die at a moments notice.

And finally using Ki energy was a great success. I was now able to create Ki blast attacks with the power of a moderate strength explosion note. They also were launched much more quickly where each one would fly at roughly 100 km/h and there would be as many as five in the air at one time. I had come so far that I used an extra day to utilise it in my Kenjutsu. I could now channel Ki through the sword and create waves of destructive Ki energy reminiscent of one of the moves Kurosaki Ichigo uses in Bleach, and Cloud's Blade Beam limit break. Unfortunately, by the time I learnt how to do this properly, my week was up. I would have to learn how to fly later. That was the part I was looking forward to learning the most.

While I stayed in the Training Room, I also thought about telling the Hokage the truth about what happened to Naruto. I know the letter from Kami said that it was alright to let Sarutobi in on the secret, but I was still hesitant on telling him. Eventually I resolved to call Kami after I beat up Mizuki.

(Cue music silence)

After the week was up the room dissolved back into its white look.

'Uh… I wonder how I get back,' I thought. I glanced down as the watch thingy that was still wrapped around my wrist before bringing my wrist closer to my face. 'Maybe if I…' I wondered before pressing the black surface again. The whiteness immediately disappeared and I felt like I was being dragged backwards extremely quickly. Not a second passed before I was back in the clearing, the Forbidden Scroll in front of me.

'I guess a minute really did pass out here while a whole week passed in the Training Room. Sweet!' I thought.

"**Damn right. Now you'll be able to get strong quickly!"** said Kyuubi. In the past 'week' Kyuubi and I had grown closer together in friendship. One could call us close friends. She still called me 'Josh-kun' and now I was calling her 'Kyuubi-chan'.

I then heard a rustling behind me and I turned around to see one very irate Umino Iruka.

"You're in BIG trouble Naruto!" he said menacingly. I mentally sighed before taking a moment to prepare myself.


	4. Chapter 4: My Truths and Realisations

Albums needed for this chapter: NARUTO Shippuuden Original Soundtrack, Final Fantasy XIII Original Soundtrack, Samurai Champloo OST - Departure, King of Bandits Jing: OST, Devil May Cry: The Animated Series OST.

**Chapter 4: My Truths and Realisations**

"You got me, Iruka-sensei," I said, unfazed by his anger. "I was only able to learn two jutsu's. But now you'll let me pass the exam right?"

Iruka looked confused, just as I knew he would. "What are you talking about Naruto?"

I smiled on the inside but outside I played the innocent and trusting Naruto. "Mizuki told me that there was a secret gennin test. He told me that if I was able to sneak out this scroll and learn a jutsu from it that you would pass me…" here I faded off as I saw Iruka stare into space in horror. My ears twitched as I heard several metallic objects approach me from behind. I grabbed Iruka's Chuunin vest and jumped to the side, pulling him with me.

The shuriken whipped past us and imbedded themselves into the side of the small shed. I let go of Iruka and slid on the ground slightly before turning towards where the shuriken had come from. There, standing on a tree branch with two giant shuriken strapped to his back and an evil grin on his face, was Mizuki.

(Cue song Stalemate by Takanashi Yasuharu from NARUTO Shippuuden Original Soundtrack)

He turned to where Iruka was and smirked. "I guess you found our little hideaway Iruka," he said.

Iruka stood up and glared at the silver haired traitor. "I see… so that's how it is," he growled. Without taking his eyes of Mizuki he said, "Naruto, don't let him get the scroll no matter what. That's a dangerous scroll that has Forbidden jutsus. Mizuki used you so that he could get a hold of it!"

'No shit, Iruka. You'd think I wouldn't know even with the big Kanji on the side of the scroll that says **'Forbidden'**,' I snorted mentally.

"**Ha ha ha ha ha! Well Naruto would be a little less observant,"** said Kyuubi.

'True, but what will I do when Mizuki reveals the big "secret"?' I thought.

"**Hmm… how about total disbelief, Josh-kun?" **suggested Kyuubi.

'That's not a bad idea Kyuubi-chan,' I said before focusing on what Mizuki had started to say.

"Naruto, Iruka is afraid of you possessing that," grinned Mizuki. I simply cocked my head to the side slightly in a confused manner.

"What are you saying Mizuki? Don't believe him Naruto!" shouted Iruka who sounded nervous. Mizuki just smiled as he continued. "I'll tell you the truth." Iruka, sensing the direction that this was going, yelled at the traitor. "Don't!" He probably wanted to err on the side of caution just in case I really didn't know about Kyuubi.

"A law was passed after the incident that occurred 12 years ago," said Mizuki, his smirk growing larger the more he said.

Keeping up the innocent act I asked, "A law?"

"It's a law that only you, Naruto, cannot find out about."

"Stop, Mizuki!" Iruka yelled in a vain attempt to shut him up.

"It's a law not to say that Naruto is a Demon Fox!" said Mizuki triumphantly.

"Huh?" I simply said.

"In other words, you are the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox who killed Iruka's parents and destroyed our village."

"Stop!" screamed Iruka.

"You've been deceived by the village people all this time. Didn't you think it was weird for everyone to hate you so much? No-one's ever going to recognize you! Even Iruka hates you! Ha ha ha ha ha!" laughed Mizuki, waiting for the look of horror and realisation. However he was going to be disappointed.

"Okay… I think someone's smelt their hair bleach too much," I said, making Kyuubi laugh hard inside my head.

(Cue record ripping sound)

"But… but you are the demon!" yelled Mizuki, obviously trying to get me to see the 'light'.

I simply shook my head pitifully. "I may be only twelve, but if you actually think that I would be so gullible as to believe such an outrageously fantastic story as that, then you gotta be higher than the gods."

"You... You filthy demon!" Mizuki sputtered in rage, both at his failure to break my spirit, and at the rather witty insult I had said back at him. He yanked one of the giant shuriken from his back and began spinning it with one hand. "It's all over for you! Now you die!" He hurled the weapon.

(Cue song Snow's Theme by Masashi Hamauzu from Final Fantasy XIII Original Soundtrack)

I stood my ground and smiled before glancing at Iruka, who was too far away to push me out of the way. "Watch closely Iruka," I said before releasing the **Kage Henge** on my sword and drawing it from my back. The looks I received were priceless. Both Iruka and Mizuki gawked at the simply humungous, deadly and bad-ass zanbato sword I wielded. I waited until the giant shuriken was a few meters away from me before I acted. Taking the sword in both hands I pumped chakra into the sword before bringing it in a heavy, but quick, overhead strike. The sword sliced through the giant shuriken like a lightsaber through droid, sending the two halves spinning out of control and hurtling into the trees behind me. But when the sword slammed into the ground, the whole clearing shook and a large cloud of dust was kicked up.

After a few moments, the dust settled to reveal a large crater in the ground. My sword was in the middle, digging into the ground as the chakra in the blade was released. I brought the sword around and rested it on my shoulder for effect. Looking at Iruka and Mizuki now was comedy gold. Both of their eyes were as wide as dinner plates and their mouths were completely open. I grinned at Mizuki.

"What's wrong Mizuki-sensei? Is this too much for you?" I mocked. He didn't answer since he was having trouble breathing at that moment. With my left hand I picked up the scroll and looked between it and the traitor. "You thought you could use this as a bargaining chip for Orochimaru so you could join his village didn't you?"

"How… how did you know that!" he gasped in fear and confusion.

"I have my ways," I said mysteriously. "Now that we know where your true colours lie, I'll make sure that you can still speak easily for the ANBU. I can't guarantee how other parts of you are going to survive." I then slammed the white sword into the ground before placing my hands into the cross handseal.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"** I called out and the whole clearing exploded into white smoke. A strong breeze flowed through the area and showed 200 clones. And they all wielded a copy of my sword each.

"Guys, demonstrate what we do to traitors of the Leaf, but don't make him bleed too much. We need to give Ibiki something to play with," I ordered in a loud voice.

"**YES BOSS!"** chorused the clones before they proceeded to bash the shit out of the silver haired chuunin. 30 seconds into the massive beat down, he was close to blacking out, a mass of bruises and small cuts all over his body.

"Be thankful I didn't obliterate your ass, as I'm sure you have more to tell and I'll leave that for the experts," I said coldly before he slipped into unconsciousness.

As soon as Mizuki had blacked out, I dismissed all the clones, then pulling my sword out of the earth and doing a Cloud by spinning the sword above my head a few times before attaching it to my back where I felt the small amount of chakra inside the sword and inside myself connect so the sword stuck to my back.

I then turned to Iruka and smiled. He gave a small smile back before he asked, "How did you know that he was going to give the scroll to Orochimaru?"

'Crap! He overheard that!' I thought franticly. 'What should I do? Should I tell him the truth? Or should I make something up?'

"**I think you should tell him when you and Ken tell the Hokage," **said Kyuubi.

I thought about it for a few seconds before realising that she was right. 'Yeah, I will tell him.'

"Naruto? Are you alright?"

I then realised that I must've looked like I was spacing out. "Sorry Iruka-sensei, but to answer your question, you'll have to wait until I explain some things to the Hokage." And with that I turned around and grabbed Mizuki's foot. I then proceeded to head in the direction of the Hokage Tower, the traitor's head banging in the dirt with Iruka following behind.

* * *

(Cue song Ask by Fat Jon from Samurai Champloo OST - Departure)

"And that's the whole story," finished Ken, leaning back in his chair. Across the room sat Iruka and Sarutobi. Iruka's face looked a mix of disbelief, sadness and anger. The Hokage was much the same without the disbelief. I guess after you see a Shinigami you start to accept that the world is governed by unseen forces. I myself was sitting next to Ken, waiting for any questions directed at me.

"So let me see if I got this straight," began the old man. "Naruto was attacked by some of the villages and the attack somehow separated his body and soul. His soul ascended to heaven but the body that was left behind was starting to cave in from the pressure of Kyuubi's chakra since there was no presence to hold it back. So to prevent a cataclysmic explosion that would have wiped out the whole of Fire Country, you looked for a soul similar to Naruto's to fuse with Naruto's body. You then found one and it's the soul inside Naruto now?" he finished up as he looked at me.

"Yep, that's pretty much it," I confirmed.

Sarutobi sighed. "I wish we could find out who did this. I was already deeply interested in who did this as no-one has attacked Naruto since he became an academy student. But now that I know this, well, let's say that it has become my no.1 case that I'll fully look into."

"You mean more than finding out what Akatsuki want and their members," I said, but soon wished I just kept my mouth shut.

"How do you know of that investigation?" said Sarutobi.

'Great! Me and my big mouth. Guess I should answer,' I thought.

"Well my theory is this," I started before looking at Ken. "Correct me if I'm wrong. The presences of other worlds impact the others in indirect ways. In my world, Naruto was a cartoon (I flinched as I degraded Naruto to cartoon status) /manga that aired on the TV. That was the indirect way of this world's influence mingling with my own. The same goes with other worlds. Is this right?"

Ken was shaking his head, but not in disagreement. "Amazing. You hit the nail on the head."

"We were in a cartoon?" asked Iruka indignantly.

"Yep! This is how I know everything about you," I said. Iruka nodded.

"Then you must know about future events. Any chance you could tell us?" asked the Hokage.

I looked at Ken and saw him nod. "Just don't go into specifics," he said.

"Well there are several things that absolutely must happen. The first key thing that must happen is that in three months time, a mission from Wave country will appear. You must send Team 7 which consists of me, Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura and Hatake Kakashi. Hopefully by the end of the mission, you'll have four shinobi joining the ranks."

"What do you mean?" asked Iruka.

I smiled. "Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies. After the mission I'll brief you on the next thing that'll happen which will be critical in the future history of the Leaf Village," I finished very seriously. The leader and teacher nodded together.

"Well I guess all that's left is my Hitai-ate. Any chance I could ask for a black one?" I asked.

"Sure Naru... I mean... uh, what exactly is your name?" asked Sarutobi.

"My full name is Josh Ryu Kitsune."

"Well Josh, I'll have the Hitai-ate commissioned right now and you'll have it by the end of today. In fact, when you come get your picture done this afternoon, you can pick it up."

I grinned. "Thanks Hiruzen!" I then paused. "I can call you by your first name, right?"

The Hokage smiled. "Of course."

The god looked around before setting his eyes on me. "Is that all you need me?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. Thanks Ken."

The god waved his hand in front of his face. "Don't worry bout it. You're helping me. The least I can do is help you. Well, I'll see you round," said Ken before he simply disappeared from view. No smoke, no afterimage, just gone.

I turned to Hiruzen. "By the way Hiruzen, I'll tell you the secret about paperwork." The effect on him was instantaneous. He went from looking tired from all the recent revelations, to wide, pleading eyes.

"Please! You gotta tell me how! I pestered Minato on how but all the bastard did was laugh at me!" he exclaimed.

"Well I can kind of see why he did," I said.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well the trick is using **Kage Bunshin**," I explained. The Hokage's face went from shocked to total embarrassment.

"And they call me the Professor and God of Shinobi. I can't believe it's that simple," he said before smiling. "Thank you. You're dismissed for now. I'll let you know when that mission comes in."

"Thanks," I said before turning around and exiting the tower.

* * *

-Back with Iruka and the Hokage-

Iruka looked at his leader. "You mean you didn't know?"

Hiruzen glared at the teacher. "Shut up," was all he said.

* * *

-Back With Me-

It was now early morning. The sun hadn't risen over the high wall yet. But there was enough light to turn the sky orange and pink. The light made the city glow in the respective colours. I strolled through the streets, feeling at peace. I then realised that I hadn't done my morning exercises. So I made my way to an empty training ground and begun my physical training, Ki training (I sent out some clones to make sure that I was alone. Wanted to keep it as my secret weapon for when I went up against Kakashi), kunai balancing chakra training and my meditation.

As me and 50 other me's balanced on kunai, I received a mental report from my scout clones that Hinata was making her way to me. I quickly dismissed the 50 clones that I was working with and left the training ground I was on. I leapt into the bushes and waited.

20 seconds later, Hinata walked out of the bushes and stopped at the edge of the training grounds. She looked around for a minute before sighing and walking back the way she came.

I tilted my head to the side in confusion. "What was that all about?" I asked aloud.

* * *

(Cue song Together we fly! by Scudelia Electro from King of Bandits Jing: OST)

Now that my morning training was out of the way, I made my way back to my apartment; my hands holding plastic bags full of food. Ramen was nice but having it 24/7 wasn't my idea of healthy eating. Naruto's been lucky he's had Kyuubi to nourish his body or he would have died from scurvy long ago. Inside the bags were bread, milk, vegies, cereal, eggs, orange juice, meat, pasta, rice, and several more items of food that were essential in a young boy's diet.

After I arrived back and stuffed the old looking fridge (making sure to remove the old milk) and cabinet full of the new food, I made my way out again, but this time for tools, wood and a new window. Two hours and several clones later I was looking at the new fix ups I had just made. The old window had been removed and the new one was in the same place. The holes in the roof were temporarily fixed with a few planks of wood.

Now that the place had been fixed up, I now headed to the clothes shop. I was henged into my alter ego but this version was the same size and shape as my body. The reason I did this was because all of the clothing stores had black listed Naruto, which is why Naruto was forced to wear orange. I went straight in and came out with no complaints. I was now dressed in an outfit similar to what Ragna wore in BlazBlue. A black shirt covered my torso with a black leather trench coat over the top. The coat had a gold belt wrapping around my upper back, two belts wrapped around my waist and two gold straps connecting the two sides just above the belts, clipped together with gold clips. There were several gold metal plates on the coat, two on each arm and two on each side of the lower sides. The coat also had a high collar. The inside of the coat was red. The pants were a pair of black hakama, more of a modern design rather than the traditional type; exactly like Ragna's. On the back of the coat was a beautiful and elegant gold fox. The design was exquisite, clearly made by a master of art; the very essence of beauty. I got the jacket for 90% off since it wasn't selling. I wonder why *sarcasm*.

My shoes were not the same as Ragna's however. I chose to wear a pair of black boots similar to Cloud's boots in FF7: AC. Slipped onto my hands were black leather tight gloves. To finish the image a black bandana was tied around my neon yellow hair. This was my mission outfit. My proper mission outfit. Not to be worn on D-rank missions. For casual wear I got black shirts and maroon cargos. I would still wear the gloves though.

As I and my 2 clones that were carrying the clothes walked by a bookstore, I spotted a particular book out on the stands. I then grinned and stepped into the store. Five minutes and a convenient excuse later, I was outside holding an Icha Icha Paradise book in my hand.

By now it was 2 in the afternoon. I had to go by the academy to get my photo taken for my registry. I went back home drop off my casual clothes and don my sword. Now that I was a legit ninja I wouldn't need to bother with hiding the sword, which I named White Requiem. All the materia was attached to White Requiem already.

As I walked out dressed in everything but my black bandana; and massive sword attached to my back, I put on a slightly scowling face and made my way to the ninja academy.

The looks I got were far different from what I would get if I didn't henge myself. The older population was still giving me dirty looks, but it was the younger side that had changed. All the men were giving me jealous looks while the females were looking at me in a lustful way. I of course knew this would happen with my new clothes. My scowl only enhanced my new 'dark and mysterious' look. With this happening, I could see how many of the female population were fans of this look. By the time I got to the academy, I calculated that 80% of the girls that I walked past were lusting after me.

"**Having fun?"** asked Kyuubi.

'Well it sure is different. Back home I wasn't that good looking, and besides, that's not who I am. I don't want hundreds of females after me just because of my looks. I want to find someone who will accept me for who I am.'

"**Hmm... I see..." **mussed Kyuubi.

'What's up?' I asked.

"**Oh, nothing. Just thinking about this merger, that's all,"** explained the beautiful vixen.

'Well you just take your time with your answer.' I said, reminding her that she didn't need to rush this decision.

"**Thank you Josh-kun."**

I quickly made my way up to the second floor and stepped into Iruka's classroom. At the other side was an old photographer with his setup, Iruka and the Hokage.

"Hello! What's up?" I greeted as I walked towards the three. The Hokage was the first to see me and his eyes widened considerably. Iruka was next and his eyes and mouth were completely open in shock. The photographer however smiled and gave me the thumbs up. "Nice kid. Looking real deadly there," he said.

"Thank you," I replied back.

The other two in the room got over their shock and beckoned me over to the photographer. After a few minutes of picture taking and arranging all the documents together, Hiruzen handed me my black Hitai-ate.

"Thanks," I said before tying the forehead protector around my right arm, close to the shoulder.

"You think you could pose for me so I can take another picture?" asked the photographer.

"Sure, but for what?" I asked.

"Well I take photos of ninja for the _Shinobi Monthly_ and so far I haven't got a picture for the main article about the newest genin. I'd like you to be on the front cover. It was going to be the Uchiha graduate but you're more impressive looking than him."

"Really? Thanks," I said and walked over to stand in front of the camera again. After a few shots of me posing casually (as well as a shot of me resting White Requiem on my shoulder and a shot of me in an attack stance with the sword) I asked for prints of the photos later. I exchanged my address and smiled as he packed up his camera as I was the last one for the day.

"Now you just need to report back here for your team placements. I know you already know, but just come for the sake of appearances," said Iruka.

"I was already going to come, Iruka," I replied before I sensed someone behind the door. Suddenly the door slammed open and a kid wearing a pair of grey patched pants, a light yellow t-shirt with the Konoha symbol on the front, a very long grey-green scarf and some weird dipper cap on his head that let loose a few spikes of brown hair on the top of his head.

Behold Konohamaru! My soon-to-be one way rival.

"Today's the day I finally beat you for the title of Hokage!" he yelled out before charging the old man. He was about half way across the room when he stepped on his oversized scarf and face-planted to the floor.

'Ouch,' I thought to myself before walking over to the kid. "Hey kid, you okay?" I asked.

"Owww…" was the response I got as he curled into a fatal position from the pain. But soon he raised his head to look at me.

"You tripped me, didn't you?" he accused. I sighed mentally. "Why would I want to do that?" I asked.

"Because… because… uh…"

"You're Konohamaru, right?" I asked, even though I knew.

The kid nodded hesitantly. I smiled warmly. "How bout I take you out for a snack, my treat." If there's one thing I've learnt in my previous life is that kids respond great to you if you give them food.

"Ok!" he said enthusiastically. We then walked out of the academy room, but not before I mouthed 'You owe me,' to Hiruzen to say that I would take care of the kid so he could get on with his job. The Hokage smiled back, mouthing a 'sure thing' back.

(Cue song Life Is On You by Kenji Fujii; Suble from Devil May Cry: The Animated Series OST)

Five minutes later he was asking me questions nonstop. 'Was I a ninja' 'What jutsu did I know' 'How strong was I' 'How long had I been a ninja' 'How well I could use my sword'. I answered as best as I could. It seemed the more I told him, the more he liked me. After another five minutes we were looking at the small stand that was Ichiraku Raman.

"Hello in here!" I called out as we walked in and sat down at the counter. Ayame turned around from washing dishes and smiled at me. "Hello Na…" she had unexpectedly cut off and was now blushing.

"Huh?" I said, looking at her with concern. After several seconds past, she still was locked into that position, her face slowly getting redder.

"Uh, Ayame?"

She finally snapped out of it. "Oh, sorry. It's just your new clothes look really… good." The last part of this sentence made her blush even more.

'I guess she likes my new clothes,' I thought. I then grinned, thinking that it was time to pull a small prank. I then posed in many positions that made me look very good. "What do you think Ayame? Do my new threads make me look like a sexy beast?" Her response was to get even redder than before.

I started laughing. "It's just a joke Ayame." She then realised that I was pulling her leg and she sighed before looking at me with mock anger. "You watch it Naruto," she said before smiling.

**"You weren't actually kidding, were you?"** asked Kyuubi.

'Actually yeah, I was. Ayame is a very beautiful woman but to me she's more of a sister. I guess another part of Naruto's memories fused with me last night.' I replied in my mind.

"I'll have a large chicken ramen please," I told the young woman. I then nudged the kid beside me. "Go on, order." Konohamaru nodded. "Uh… I'll have a small pork ramen please."

"You got it!" said Ayame before she turned around and the Ichiraku's got to work. While they worked on the food, I talked with the kid.

"So Konohamaru, why are you trying to attack your Grandfather?" I asked.

"I wanna claim the title of Hokage from him. I figure if I can defeat him, he'll make me Hokage," was the answer I got.

"Why do you want to be Hokage?"

The kid looked down at the floor and said softly, "Jiji gave me the name Konohamaru from the village. But everyone just calls me 'Honourable Grandson'. They don't see me; they just see the Hokage's grandson." He then looked at me with determination in his eyes. "That's why I want to become the Hokage. So then they'll see me, and not as the Honourable Grandson."

"I see," I said before speaking again. "Ok, say you become Hokage right now, but we were in the middle of the Fourth Great Ninja War. The people are asking you to save them from the combined forces of Kiri, Kumo, Ame and Rock. The ninja look to you to command their forces against the enemy and to come out victorious. What would you do?"

Konohamaru was looking very nervous now.

"Or maybe something like the Kyuubi incident happened again, and everyone looked to you to defeat the opposing force. What would you do?"

"I… I don't know," he said in a small voice. "I never thought about it like that before."

"Have you even taken into account that you need to be especially strong and cunning to beat your grandfather. There's a reason why he's called the God of Shinobi. You need to build up your strength, intelligence, experience and get recognised for your own deeds before the Hokage would even consider you as a replacement. Besides," I paused to make sure he was listening.

"You need to love this village and everyone inside it as if they were your own family, and be fully willing to sacrifice your life to protect your family that is this village. That is what it means to be a true Hokage."

"And if you can't bring yourself to love everyone in the village, then become Hokage to protect the people that matter to you the most."

With that I finished and proceeded to begin eating my food that had just arrived. I knew that everyone had heard me say that but decided to just eat in silence. I had said my part.

"Your right!" said the kid. I turned around to see that Konohamaru's eyes were once again determined. "I will find people that matter to me and I will protect them."

I smiled and ruffled what little hair I could get at. "That's good." I said.

Konohamaru then dug into his own ramen but after a while he asked a question. "Do you have anyone that matters allot to you?"

I nodded. "Hiruzen, Iruka, the Ichiraku's, you," 'Kyuubi-chan…' I finished in my head. "I don't have many, but that list is growing."

We then ate our food in silence, the both of us thinking. Konohamaru was no doubt mulling over this new lesson. I, however, was thinking about the relationship between myself and Kyuubi. So far it hadn't progressed further then good friends. But I couldn't shake the feeling that this was going to change. I was now thinking of Kyuubi as more than just a friend. She was smart, sexy, beautiful, loving, kind. Never had I known someone so perfect. It was confusing and at the same time, familiar.

I had always been a lonely child when I was young. I had very few friends. And when I came into my teenage years, I still couldn't find a steady girlfriend. But a few instances came along where I had a partner for a short time. In these experiences I had learned the difference between love and lust. Lust was definitely part of this new feeling I had but there was another, much larger part to the feeling. So the only other thing it could possibly be is…

'I… I think I'm falling for her.'

Unknown to me, Kyuubi had been awake for some time and had seen and heard my thoughts. She smiled; a wonderful, radiant smile.

'**So, that's how he feels about me…'** she thought before smiling again. Truth be told, she had begun to develop feelings for Josh. It was then that she made her decision.


	5. Chapter 5: Turning Over A New Leaf

Albums Needed for This Chapter: Final Fantasy X-2 International + Last Mission Original Soundtrack, Final Fantasy XI OST, Talk To Me (Soundtrack), Prince of Tennis OST 3, Fullmetal Panic Original Sound Track 1, Devil May Cry: The Animated Series OST,

**Chapter 5: Turning Over A New Leaf**

(Cue song Creature Create from Final Fantasy X-2 International + Last Mission OST)

I woke up feeling ready to meet my completely retarded team. I did my usual ritual before leaving for the Academy. I was decked out in my mission clothes and sword on my back. My bandana was on, hiding my bright golden locks of hair. And I was smirking to myself as I imagined the reaction I would get from the class. They probably would think that it was someone else.

I opened the door to the classroom and activated my Time material, wanting to get the most possible out of this reaction. I saw everyone turn slowly to me and I almost burst out laughing.

The boys looked very shocked as they tried to figure out who just walked through the door. The girls were wide eyed before they settled into their fan-girl stage, looking at me in a lustful way.

After I deactivated the Time Materia, there was a few seconds of silence before someone broke it with a question.

"Who are you?" asked Shikamaru.

I smirked. "Looks like the 'dobe of the class' can fool his classmates to the point where they don't even recognise him." They all looked confused. "Still don't get it?" I asked before removing my bandana. As soon as it was off, everyone in the room underwent a radical transformation. Their eyes and mouths opened wide and each one, even Sasuke and Hinata, yelled, "WHAT IN THE HELL?"

I laughed softly at their reaction, even though my reaction was less than soft on the inside. "You should see your faces."

After another few seconds of utter silence after the yell, Kiba asked the question that everyone was thinking. Turns out that Kiba was quicker to get over his shock than anyone else.

"Why aren't you wearing orange?"

"Well," I began as I sat down next to Hinata who immediately reddened up as I did. In the back of my mind I noticed that she was sitting away from her usual seat at the back. I removed my sword and smirked when everyone's eyes widened at the sheer size as I leaned it up against the desk. I whacked my feet on the desk. "Now that I'm a full-fledged ninja, I need to stop acting like a kid and start acting like an adult. That's what the change in clothes is for."

"Hn," came the usual sound of indifference from the President of 'Emo Douche Muffin's Worldwide Inc.' "I bet you're just trying to act cool, especially with that fake sword."

An evil gleam sparkled in my eye. "Well then Sasugay, why don't you see if you can prove it's a fake sword then? Try to snap it in half," I dared. I knew that Sasuke would think that I was bluffing and take the bait. True to form he got up and walked over all smug and confident. All the girls… correction, most of the girls were yelling things like 'You can do it Sasuke-kun!' or 'Teach Naruto-baka a lesson!' and other cheering/insults like that. Hinata was looking a little worried.

Sasuke stood right next to me and gave off the most superior smirk I had ever seen. I wanted to beat the Uchihas out of him but knew I would get much more satisfaction if I continued to let this drama run its course. Sasuke put his hand around the handle and tugged at it. Confusion washed over his face as he noticed that it didn't bulge. He tried again. Same result.

"What's wrong Sasuke-kun?" I said in a girly voice. "Is it too heavy for a big strong boy like you?" All the boys snickered hard at this.

Sasuke continued to try to pick it up, but of course to no avail. I was reminded strongly of the Sword in the Stone legend. Sasuke was the random guy and I was the prophesised king. "What the hell is this thing made out of?" he asked.

I stood up and picked up the sword like it was nothing. I inspected the edge before extending out my arm, the sword along with it. Everyone looked in awe as they saw that there was hardly any shaking in my arm that gripped the sword, the minute movement was caused by my breathing. "I could tell you, but then it'd be more entertaining if you tried to guess. Well Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke-kun was shaking in suppressed fury. I smirked before leaning the sword against the desk once again. "Just as I thought," I said before Iruka walked through the door.

(Cue song Metalworks by Kumi Tanioka from Final Fantasy XI OST)

"Ok, calm down everyone!" he yelled. All chatter about me at the moment died down right then and there. Iruka always had a commanding presence. In slight annoyance I realised that Sakura had sat next to me on the side nearest to Sasuke who was across the walkway that divided two thirds of our classroom. I sighed hard in my head, knowing that this would be a pain later onward.

"Starting today, you are all official ninjas but you are all still new genins. It's going to get harder from here. You all will be in a group of three. In this group you will accomplish missions under a Jōnin teacher." At this last sentence a few people's eyes widened.

"We've arranged the groups such that overall abilities are equivalent. I will now announce them." The whole class tensed. Iruka went through teams 1 to 6, but I wasn't interested in these.

"Team 7… Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke."

I smirked before looking at my new team-mates. "I hope to get along with both of you," I said in a very sarcastic manner.

Sakura got pissed and yelled at Iruka. "Why do Sasuke and I have to put up with Naruto-baka!"

(Pause current song)

I looked at her scornfully and replied, "You shouldn't insult people who don't deserve it. Karma will just save it up and pay it back with major interest." She then tried to punch me for talking back at her but I grab her fist and say in a very low and pissed voice, "All these years I've been holding back when I could easily overpower you. Do you know why? Because I actually thought you would see the error of your ways and start being nice to me. But now I see that you are just a little weakling in mind as well as in body. Since I'm feeling generous today, you have three more chances to prove me wrong. Fuck up on the fourth, and I won't pull any more punches with you. If, by some bloody fucking miracle you change after that you'll have to prove to me how sorry you are. And it sure as hell won't be easy." I then release her and looked towards the front again. I ignored everyone's shocked silence at my swearing, or from what I said to Sakura. Even Hinata looked a little surprised at my non-Narutoish statement. Iruka was silent for a few more seconds before speaking again.

(Resume song)

'Man that felt good!' I thought to myself. 'Naruto'll be pissed, but it was totally worth it.'

**"Sure was,"** agreed Kyuubi. **"Besides, Naruto will forgive you."**

The rest of the listings went on about as much as I knew it was going to be. Everyone was in the teams they were supposed to be in. When lunch came by I picked up my sword and walked out of the room and out into the playground. I decided to do a little experiment and so I jumped into a nearby tree and chakra hung from the lower branches so that anyone who would exit from the building would see me hanging.

…Okay so maybe I wanted to show off as well.

(Cue song Looking For A Fox by Clarence Carter from Talk To Me Soundtrack)

I closed my eyes and began to meditate while I was waiting. I also did a small chakra exercise. It involved helping the blood move around the body since I was upside down. There also was some being streamed into my clothes so they didn't fall around my head and instead hung around me as if gravity was in the sky instead of in the ground. It wasn't long before I heard the soft and not-so-soft surprised gasps that came from below me. After 15 minutes I had heard roughly 23 gasps and so I opened my eyes to see the sight. I ended up seeing the newly formed Team 8, 10 and the rest of 7 looking up at me with a mixture of wonder, awe, confusion, and anger. Guess who the anger was from. Hinata was looking at me with several emotions in her pearly lavender eyes. I didn't blame her.

Among my classmates were 15 or so smaller children. They all seemed to be newly instigated academy students. Mixed in with the crowd was Konohamaru. Udon and Moegi were among the ones who looked up at me in awe.

"Hey kid!" I called to Konohamaru. He waved energetically back. "Hi Josh-nii-san!" I smiled at the brother suffix and then released the chakra in my feet. I felt myself detach and I flipped over to land perfectly on the ground. I walked over and patted the kid on the head, realising that he had ditched the diaper on his head, releasing his spiky brown hair.

"You look good without the cap kid," I said, smiling at him. He beamed at me. "Have you increased your exercises?"

"Hai!" he replied.

"That's good. To push yourself to your limit is to expand that limit every time you do so, therefore growing stronger. However never train over that limit, or risk burning yourself out, causing more harm than good," I finished off sagely.

"Wow! You'd be great as our teacher!" he said, surprising me.

"Really?" I asked. Konohamaru nodded. "Yeah!"

"I see," I said thoughtfully before the bell sounded off. We then all shuffled inside for the second half of the day.

(Cue song Kounai by Kimeru, Hisoca & Aozu from Prince of Tennis OST 3)

Iruka then announced each team's sensei and waited for the Jōnin to pick up their team. First to appear was Kurenai.

"My name is Yūhi Kurenai and I'm in charge of Team 8. Please come with me," she said. Kiba, Shino and Hinata all rose from their seats and walked out of the room with their new teacher. Kurenai looked over at me and I gave her a little wave. She smiled softly and nodded my way before busying herself with her new team. Hinata also looked back at me and I just smiled at her while waving at her. She looked ready to faint but then she exited the room. Aww well.

Next was Asuma. He walked in, smoking a cigarette as usual and said, "My name is Sarutobi Asuma. Team 10, your with me." Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji walked over to their new sensei and they all left the room.

After Team 10 left all the other Jōnin came to pick up their teams. Everyone left until only my team was left. I looked at the clock, realising that only an hour had passed. Kakashi wouldn't be here for another two hours.

"Hey guys, our sensei probably won't be here for another 2 hours so I'm gonna go home to do a little housecleaning," I said as I walked over to the open window, leaving my sword behind.

"How do you know that?" asked… no, demanded Sasuke.

"Well, Kakashi is very famous for two reasons. One of those reasons is his chronic tardiness. Believe me when I say he's going to be another two hours late." I then jumped out of the window and sprinted over the rooftops to reach my apartment. I knew that Kakashi would drop by to check out the place where I live so I had to hide anything weird like my chest of money, or my materia chest which still had the summon materia inside.

After about half an hour of cleaning with the directing help of Kyuubi, I felt a presence at my window. I turned around to see Hiruzen and Kakashi looking inside.

"Hey old man! How's the paperwork now?" I asked cheerfully.

Hiruzen chuckled as he stepped through the open window. "A great success! I now have so much free time that I can now just stroll around my village without having to worry about the paperwork."

"Good to know. A leader needs to keep a close eye on his kingdom and he can't do that when he can't see beyond the towers of paperwork," I said. Hiruzen nodded before asking the obvious question.

"Um, Naruto. How come you're not at the academy?"

I smirked. "Well, as soon as I heard Kakashi was our teacher, I knew that he was going to be at least three hours late. So I decided to come back home and do a little housecleaning. By the way," I said, remembering an idea I had a little while back. "Do you have the deeds on this apartment?"

"Yes I do. Since no-one lives here other than you I decided to own the building. Why?" he asked.

"Well I'd like to buy it off you so I can start working on repairing the whole place."

The Hokage looked surprised but smiled. "Of course. And there's no need to buy it from me. I'll give it to you since it's really been yours for a few years now."

"Really? Thanks!" I replied.

"No problem. I'll even hire some construction workers from the next town to help out," offered Hiruzen but I waved him off.

"There's no need. I know Kage Bunshin so I have all the labour help I need. And if I need help in building then I'll just get a clone to read an architect book overnight." Hiruzen looked impressed. "It seems you thought this out already." I nodded.

Throughout all this, Kakashi had remained silent outside. He now wore a fairly shocked expression on his face.

"Something wrong Kakashi?" I asked before I realised what he was so shocked about. "You're wondering why I'm having such a laidback conversation with the Hokage." He nodded.

"Well I think you should know the details," I said before turning to the Hokage. "Do you agree Hiruzen?"

The wizened old man nodded almost immediately. "I think that would be a good idea. He is going to be your sensei after all."

I nodded before beckoning them to the table. "Would you two like some coffee?" I asked. The two men nodded and I began to make three mugs of special coffee imported from the Rice Country. As I was waiting for the water to boil I began my tale. By the time I had finished, the coffee had been made and half-drunk.

Kakashi took a sip and set his mug down. "Well that's quite a story," he said, the tone in his voice obviously giving away that he didn't believe me. I decided to shake him up a bit.

"Well would you believe me if I say in three and a half years you would help a great deal in helping the old Naruto add wind element manipulation into the Rasengan?" The look on his face at this moment was priceless. "You also teach the Chidori to Sasuke after dumping the old Naruto onto someone else as you thought that Sasuke would pass through the finals of the Chuunin Exam instead of Naruto when they both qualify for the finals." Here the Hokage sent a stern look at Kakashi before shaking his head slightly.

"And the last thing I'll say is this," I paused for effect. "You shouldn't blame yourself for what happened to Obito." As soon as I mentioned the name Obito, Kakashi stiffened. I noticed this, however I continued on. "Granted you could have acted less of a dickhead because of your promotion to Jōnin but that incident wasn't your fault. When you live in the past, you can't move forward. Look to the future, learn from your mistakes and begin anew. And remember the lessons that he taught you."

After this little speech both Kakashi and Hiruzen were looking at me in wonder. I suddenly grinned, embarrassed. "Sorry guys. My mum was a shrink when I was growing up. I almost always try to help people get over old and new psychological wounds automatically," I explained.

Kakashi shook his head. "No, I really needed to hear that. Thank you."

I smiled before my face hardened. "Another thing. If you are going to be our sensei, then you better not play favourites. You did that with the old Naruto when you favoured Sasuke over everyone else. And something very bad came of it. Don't make the same mistake."

Kakashi nodded nervously before asking a question. "Um, just curious but, how bad of a teacher was I?"

I looked him in the eye. "You really want to know?" He nodded. I sighed. "In the time between you becoming Team 7's sensei and the Chuunin Exam you taught them one thing, the Tree Walking exercise."

"Wha! Really?" he asked. I nodded solemnly. "I see," he said sadly. I then smiled and placed my hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry. I'll help you get Team 7 into tip-top shape for the Chuunin Exams," I said kindly. He smiled but then he squinted at me. "Wait a minute, I haven't even passed you yet?" he said accusingly.

I laughed. "Oh I know all about your teamwork test. Don't worry. I'll mention to Sasuke and Sakura that to pass the test, teamwork is needed. However I won't force them if they refuse to team up with me. But you need to give us a second chance. Well, give the other two a second chance anyways." I then look at the clock and see that we had been talking for almost two hours.

"Well Kakashi, I believe it's time you get to know your team," I said.

"**Yeah, and change your lazy attitude!"** commented Kyuubi.

"Oh, and Kyuubi says to change your lazy attitude," I replayed to Kakashi. He nodded a bit sheepishly as he had already heard the explanation for Kyuubi's attack and her real origans, not as a demon but as a guardian.

"I'll try my best," he said before jumping out of the room and walking at a leisurely stroll toward the academy.

"Well Hiruzen, thanks for helping out here," I thanked him.

"No problem," he replied back before he too jumped out of the window to walk in the opposite direction. I then jumped out myself, making sure to close the window before taking off for the academy.

(Cue song Shisseki To Benkai by Toshihiko Sahashi from Fullmetal Panic Original Sound Track 1)

When I arrived I saw that Sasuke was still trying to lift my sword. Judging by his uncut hands I deducted that he had been unsuccessful.

"You can't pick it up Sasugay so just leave it be," I said, making the boy jump at the sound of my voice before turning around to glare at me.

"Oh scary, scary," I muttered sarcastically before sitting down next to my sword, propping up my heavy boot clad feet on to the desk and fishing out the Icha Icha Paradise book. I had read a few chapters and so far it was a very good book. True it was a porn book but it was written so well that all you had to do was tone down the sex scenes drastically and you would have a masterpiece. Even the sex scenes were well written. Both I and Kyuubi were into the book.

As I turned a page I felt Sakura walk up to stand next to me. "What are you reading? I think I've seen that book before."

I grinned at her. "No doubt that you've seen this book before as almost all the males over 16 read this book." I closed the book and showed her the title.

"Icha Icha Paradise?" she read out loud. "Strange name." Again I grinned. "Not for a porno." Here Sakura's face reddened. Whether it was out of embarrassment or anger, who knows. "Na-ru-to! Why are you reading such a thing!" she growled while cocking her fist at me.

"Well once you get over the very explicit scenes the book is a very good read." I then opened the book once again and showed her a random page. She immediately looked away. "Don't show me!" she yelled out.

"Aww," I said in a very mocking voice. "Is Naruto more mature that Sakura?"

Sakura froze instantly before turning around and reading the page furiously. It only took a few seconds for the effects of the book to fully impact her innocent mind. Her face reddened so much I couldn't help but draw comparisons between her and Hinata. She then toppled backward with a small dribble of blood coming out of her nose.

"Guess that proves it," I said before I turned to Sasuke slowly and grinned evilly. "What about you Sasuke? Want the chance to prove to me that you're not really gay?" I added a small evil laugh for effect.

Sasuke looked between me, the book and Sakura, who had begun to drool even though she was knocked out. I decided a little more incentive was needed.

"Is Sasuke _afraid_?"

This snapped Sasuke into action. He walked up, snatched the book from me and read the page. The pervert effect took a little longer on him but soon he too was conked out on the floor with blood flowing out of his nose.

"Y'all a bunch of lightweights," I said smugly before the door opened and Kakashi walked through. He took one look around before looking at the book still clutched in Sasuke's hands.

"What a bunch of lightweights," he said.

"You think so too eh?" I said as I pried the book out of the emo's hands. I then began slapping Sasuke softly. "C'mon Sasuke. Time to wake up!" Sasuke's eyes opened slowly. "Wha… what happened?" he asked.

"You, my friend, just passed the 'I am not gay' test. Welcome to the straight club!" I congratulated before contemplating. "But now that I know you aren't gay, I guess I can't call you Sasugay anymore. Now I have to think of a new definition of you," I said quietly as I moved over to Sakura. I made sure to stay out of her potential reach before shouting at her, "Look! It's a naked Sasuke!" She shot up from the ground, looking around wildly. "Where! Where! Where!"

"Well at least you're up," I said. "Our sensei is here," I said. They both turned to Kakashi who was looking at them with amusement in his revealed eye.

"My first impressions of you are… you're interesting. Meet me up on the roof."

* * *

(Cue song Life Is On You by Kenji Fujii; Suble from Devil May Cry: The Animated Series OST)

We were now all assembled on the roof. I was sitting next to Sasuke and Sakura was on the opposite side as Sasuke had purposely sat away from the fan-girl.

"Well, why don't you tell me about yourselves?" asked Kakashi when we were all ready.

"What do you mean?" asked Sakura, who's blush still hadn't completely died down.

Kakashi gave her a deadpan look as if he was thinking 'Is she really the smartest in the graduating class?'

"Well how bout you tell me your likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams/goals for the future? Stuff like that."

"Why don't you go first?" asked Sakura.

"Ok… my name's Hatake Kakashi. I like a few things; reading Icha Icha Paradise for one. Another thing I like is getting smashed on Friday nights with Maito Gai, though what really happens is that I pretend to be buzzed while I sit back and watch the entertainment from Gai."

I sniggered at this. That seemed like a typical thing for Kakashi to do. Though I was pleased that he was opening up to us more.

"There aren't many things I don't like however if there is one thing I really don't like is any type of Yaoi entertainment, whether written or visual. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against gay people. Just I hate gay material. Another thing I hate is fan-girls. With a passion. My hobby, besides reading Icha Icha Paradise, is daydreaming about the day I get a girlfriend that isn't in for my looks only. That's why I wear this mask, cause apparently my face is so gorgeous that females just lust after me for my face alone. So I wear a mask to hide it but that doesn't really help because the mask now makes me look mysterious now and that's also a bunch of major points on how handsome I look, but if I lose the mask then it will be even worse."

"Damn," I said, never seeing this side of Kakashi before. "You got it rough man," I finished sympathetically.

"You see my dilemma," replied Kakashi before sighing. "So I can't wait to get a girlfriend who isn't just in for my looks so then I can take off this blasted mask."

"You don't like wearing it?" I asked.

"Hell no. It itches all the friggin time and it's such a pain to eat with it on. It does have its uses though. It's made of a special material that filters out poisonous air."

"Sensei, what did you do before becoming a Jōnin Sensei?" asked Sakura.

"Well, before this I was an ANBU Capitan," said Kakashi.

"Really?" asked Sasuke.

"It seems that we can learn much more than what normal sensei's would be able to teach us," I said neutrally but I was looking at Sasuke out from the corner of my eye. 'If we want to keep Sasuke from defecting then we need him to think that he's getting more instruction than anyone else,' I thought.

**"For sure. If he ever defects then he'll become a thorn in our sides in the future,"** agreed Kyuubi.

'Yeah, especially if Orochimaru ever got his hands on the Sharingan. That can never happen,' I added.

"And my dream is to retire alive and well. My main goal at the moment is to get you three to Chunin, then Jōnin ," Kakashi finished his intro.

I was smiling at Kakashi as he had revealed more of himself than anyone probably knew about the Jōnin .

"Ok, your turn now," he said, nodding at Sakura.

"Well my name is Haruno Sakura. I like…" here, in true fan-girl fashion, she turned to Sasuke and smiled with a blush on her face. I sighed mentally. It was going to be a while before she matured. "My hobby is…*giggle*. And my dream is… *squeal, high-pitched giggling and massive blush*" I had a sweat drop by the time she had finished. I wasn't the only one as Kakashi looked a little WTF'ed.

"Ok. Now you," said Kakashi, nodding at Sasuke.

"I have very little likes and many dislikes. My hobby is training. My dream… no, my ambition is the restoration of my clan… and to kill a certain person."

"What a boring intro," I commented while Sakura had stars in her eyes.

Sasuke turned to me. "I'd like to see you do better," he challenged.

"Ok. My name is Uzumaki Naruto. The things I like are foxes, my friends, sword fighting, and training. I dislike arrogant people who think they know everything," here I looked at Sasuke and said, "Wink wink, nudge nudge." I then continued. "Pumpkin, spiders and snakes. My greatest fear is being completely alone. My hobby is sparing. My goal is to create a swords master group, like the Seven Swordsman of the Mist, only they'll be 9. I just need to think of a good name for the group. My dream is to one day become Hokage and lead Konoha into an age of peace and greatness, as well as to create a family and to then train my own kids."

I looked at Sasuke and smiled at the surprised expression he was showing. Sakura was even more surprised. But Kakashi, knowing who I really was, hardly looked surprised at all.

"Ahh! I got it!" I suddenly said out of the blue. Everyone turned to me. I pointed at Sasuke and said, "Your new definition is 'Emo Douche Muffin' or 'EDM' for short!" Sasuke glared at me and almost tried to pummel me but restrained himself. Same went for Sakura.

"Well, now that I know you personally, it's time I told you the last part of the Genin test. The first part was to test your skills. The last part, however, tests something that is always needed in a team. I want you three to report at Training Ground 7 at 6am tomorrow for this test. Kapish?" he said. We all nodded. "Ok! See you tomorrow!" he said lively before performing the Shunshin jutsu to poof away.

I left quickly before my team mates noticed and jumped over the rooftops to arrive at my apartment. I walked up the stairs and into my room to see a scroll sitting on my bed. I unrolled it to see that it was the deed for the apartment complex. Smiling I placed it into my Materia chest and laid down on the bed. I decided to close my eyes for a bit.

When I opened them, I found myself in front of Kyuubi's cage. It was the first time since tearing off the corner of the seal. As I looked through the bars I saw that Kyuubi had changed into her human hybrid form and it seemed that she had been waiting for me.

"Hey Kyuubi-chan! What's up?" I asked.

"Josh-kun, I've decided," she replied. I immediately paid complete attention to her next few words.

"I'll do it."


	6. Chapter 6: Changes

Albums needed: Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (OST), Final Fantasy XIII Original Soundtrack, Eureka seveN OST 1 Disc 1, Fullmetal Panic Original Sound Track 1, Final Fantasy XI Original Soundtrack.

**Chapter 6: Changes**

(Cue song Constructor's Blues by Mitsutoshi Sato from Gran Turismo 5 Prologue OST)

"So what happens?" I asked. I was now sitting inside the cage with Kyuubi. She was lounging on a sofa I conjured up in my mind. I was sitting next to her in a recliner.

"Well this sort of thing almost never happens so in order for this to work, one or more of the other guardians need to be here to oversee the process," she answered. She was wearing a light blue t-shirt with a pink sweater and a light green skirt. She was wearing glasses that looked like the type of glasses a teacher would wear. A really hot teacher. I guess now would be a bad time to say that I have a glasses fetish. Her perfect legs only added to her quite distracting image so I was avoiding looking at her slightly. It didn't help that her very impressive assets were stretching her top almost to the extreme. They looked to be the same size as Myuria's from Star Ocean 4. Thank god she wasn't wearing the same costume as her. I think I would die from the blood loss.

"So, another guardian needs to be here before we do this?" Kyuubi nodded before she sat up and turned to me. "I need to send out a pulse of unique energy that only our kind can pick up. Then whoever is able to come will transport themselves immediately to this location."

I nodded before I remembered something. "Wait a minute. Why does someone need to oversee this transfer when it's automatic?"

"While it's true that this process is automatic, if a certain ritual isn't performed, all the youki inside you will burst out of you in a cataclysmic explosion. I will create a strong barrier before I leave your body so the youki will be held back for roughly 1 day. As soon as the transfer is done, myself and the other guardians that turn up will then perform the ritual that will turn you into a hanyo."

"A hanyo?" I exclaimed.

"Yes. To be able to contain the youki, the very makeup of your body needs to be changed into a body that can handle the high energy output you'll inevitably be using in the future as well as keeping the youki inside yourself. The only way is to turn yourself into a hanyo."

"I see," I said softly before remembering that the letter from Ken said something about turning into one. I nodded at Kyuubi to let her know that I was ready.

Kyuubi nodded back before she closed her eyes and began to concentrate. After several seconds she began to glow with red light. The glow then pulsed out once before dying down. She then opened her eyes. "They'll be here soon. You should return and wait for them while I prepare the containment barrier." I nodded before dispelling myself. I awoke to see that it was now night time. I checked my iPhone to see that it was close to midnight.

As I waited for whoever would turn up I thought about becoming a hanyo. I had nothing against it but I knew it was going to be painful. 'But it will all be worth it,' I thought to myself before I felt a slight disturbance behind me. I turned and jumped slightly at the sight behind me.

There were three figures standing before me. The first one was male and was only slightly shorter than me. He had long black hair with thick white streaks through it, giving him the appearance that he was very wise. Poking out of his hair were two badger ears. Black eyes stared back at me, making me very uneasy, so I averted my eyes to see seven badger tails moving silently behind him. I then turned to the second one. This one was also male and stood much taller than me. He had dog ears on top of his head and five white dog tails swaying behind him. Each tail was tipped in a different colour; grey, blue, brown, yellow and red. He had long white hair and silver eyes. These eyes were kind, reminding me of Ken's eyes. The third was female. She had emerald green hair that was bundled into thick dreadlocks. The woman was almost as tall as the dog one and had green eyes in the same shade as her hair. I was slightly creeped out to see that she had no visible ears but waving behind her were eight snake tails. I then deducted that the three people who were standing before me were the Gobi, Shichibi and Hachibi guardians. 'But isn't Killer Bee's bijuu the Hachibi,' I wondered to myself.

Seeing as I was looking at three of the strongest beings on the planet I was very respectful. "Good evening, guardians of the land. I humbly welcome you to my house." I was surprised when Gobi started laughing while the other two just smiled amused.

"No need for such formality, we get too much of that back home," he said. Hachibi and Shichibi nodded, still smiling. I smiled, glad that I didn't need to be so formal. I disliked being formal.

**"Ok, I'm all finished up here,"** said Kyuubi. I nodded and gripped my sword and held it in my hands.

**"We accept the soul transfer!" **we both said together. Red energy gushed out of my hands and transferred into the sword. Then the blade underwent a small change. The crystal part of the sword changed. The long, thin crystal along the length of the sword stayed the same but the rectangular piece now looked like it had a red spark inside it. It pulsed to let me know it was alright.

White Requiem then began to change and shift in my arms and soon I was holding Kyuubi, bridal style. We both looked into each other's eyes and blushed simultaneously. I placed her on her feet and smiled at her. "So Kyuubi-chan, how does it feel being outside again?" I asked.

She beamed at me. "It feels so great," she exclaimed as she spread her arms wide and began to spin on the spot with her eyes closed; her hair streaming out. A cough broke her out of her fun and she turned to face the three guardians. "Hello. It's nice to see you again."

"It's nice to see you too Kyuubi-san," replied Shichibi for the first time.

"It's been too long," said Hachibi, her speech sounding upper-class despite her appearance.

"Indeed," agreed Gobi.

"I want you to meet Josh-kun," said Kyuubi as she introduced me.

"Kun?" questioned Gobi, mirth dancing in his eyes. Kyuubi blushed harder than before, making Gobi bark with laughter.

While this was happening Shichibi and Hachibi had introduced themselves. Both of them weren't fond of being called by their titles so I was to now call Shichibi, James and Hachibi, Elizabeth. I also learned that Elizabeth was the true Hachibi guardian and that Bee's bijuu was her assistant. I then asked Kyuubi, who was still red from Gobi's teasing, her real name. She replied that she liked the name Kyuubi so she had made that her name.

(Cue song The Thirteenth Day by Masashi Hamauzu from Final Fantasy XIII Original Soundtrack)

Then we got down to business. I realised that the safest place to conduct the ceremony was in the Training room. So I instructed everyone to place their hand on my shoulder and I transported everyone to the room. There I set up the room so it looked like a circular room of stone with a raised round platform in the middle of the room. In the advanced settings I found an option where I could set up a barrier to protect the room from any youki energy that would be exploding out of me.

Then I was instructed to sit in the middle of the platform while Kyuubi, Gobi, James and Elizabeth drew a very complicated seal array around me. The array wasn't just made up of lines, but English words, Japanese kanji, numbers, roman numerals, and glyphs of an ancient language which Elizabeth told me was the written language of the Gods.

When the array had been finished, Kyuubi talked to me. "One final thing. After you receive my power, you will essentially become the new guardian of Fire Country."

"Okay," I said, having already figured out that something like that would happen.

"Alright, just making sure that's all," she said. She then walked to the edge of the seal where a particularly large glyph surrounded with kanji was. Looking around I saw that the other guardians had placed themselves at other points similar to where Kyuubi was.

"Ready?" asked Kyuubi.

I nodded.

"Ok," she said before nodding at the other guardians. They nodded back.

**"Fusion Art: Ascension of the Ningen Spirit!"** they all said together and slammed their hands onto the seal array. The seal glowed blue before my whole world exploded with pain. After about ten seconds of this unholy feeling I blacked out as my brain's automatic defences kicked in and my mind shut down.

* * *

(Cue music silence)

I slowly woke up to the stone ceiling of the virtual training room. I was strangely comfortable so I rolled over to see that I was lying on a futon bed. I yawned as I sat up when I noticed Kyuubi was in the same bed as me.

'!,' was the reaction I had in my mind. 'How did this happen?' I then thought. I looked around to see that my clothes were folded and stacked next to the bed. The clothes looked to be a lot bigger now and that confused me.

Careful not to wake the sleeping beauty next to me I slipped out of the bed and stood up. I wobbled a bit as I seemed to be much taller now. Bout 6'7". At least I now knew why my clothes were bigger. The other guardians must've shaped them to be able to fit me. I ran my hand through my blond hair and came across two furry triangles attached to my head.

'Holy shit! Are those what I think they are?' I thought as I felt them some more, which happened to feel great. I then felt where my ears should of been but felt nothing but skin.

'So, I have a pair of fox ears now,' I deducted. 'I wonder...' I trailed off as I felt behind me to feel a long furry appendage waving in the air.

"Holy shit I have a tail!" I exclaimed, a little louder than I should have. I heard Kyuubi stir in her sleep. I clamped my mouth shut quickly and waited. She rolled over in her sleep before settling down. I let out a quiet sigh before walking to her and placing my hand in hers. I then touched the black watch and felt the world around me fly away before everything was still and we were inside my apartment once again.

Leaving Kyuubi to sleep in my bed I walked over to the mirror in the bathroom. I was amazed at what I saw. I was quite taller now and was ripped as hell. Not as much as a body builder, for that would be uncomfortable. The fox ears were a mix of white and gold. The tail was the same. My eyes were now a deep amethyst purple. They were very exotic and enchanting to look at. My hair was still yellow but there were streaks of white through it. The length and style had also changed. My hair was now longer at the back and gathered into thicker spikes while the front and top now spiked up. I also looked like I was 30'ish, which was great as I had missed being in an adult's body. A kid's body just wasn't the same. I also had a very light dusting of golden coloured hair, almost like fur, but it would be impossible to notice without looking very closely.

"Man oh man. I look so incredibly bad-ass," I said softly to myself. I also noticed that my voice was deeper and more growlier than before. In short, my voice sounded very sexy now. I then looked further south from my chiselled chest and got the biggest surprise aside from having a tail. My manhood was now a good 7 inches long and I wasn't even turned on. I estimated it would be 9 when I would be in the mood. 9! My lucky number. He he he. I grinned before walking back into the bedroom, heaving the spare futon out of the closet, sliding on a pair of large pants to sleep in (at least they were large before my transformation) and going to sleep. Tomorrow would be very interesting.

* * *

I awoke to a warm feeling around me. It felt like I was in a large field of flowers and I was lying in the sunlight. I opened my eyes to a very different sight.

(Cue song Forbidden Fruit by Naoki Sato from Eureka seveN OST 1 Disc 1)

Somehow Kyuubi was in my bed and was holding onto me. Her arms were around my head, pressing my face in between her breasts. She still seemed to be sleeping. She was also clad in only a white shirt and that's it. No bottoms. The shirt was loose fitting and large so the fabric fell past her waist and about a third down her lovely thighs. However the shirt had several buttons on the top and all of them were undone, showing a very large amount of cleavage. It was also still night time, though if I had to guess, it would be about 2 in the morning.

'Eeeeehhhhhhhh! W-W-W-Why is Kyuubi in my futon again?' I screamed in my head. I pulled back. "I-I have to separate myself before she wakes up and kills me," I said softly to myself. I would, but at that precise moment she pushed my head further into her cleavage.

'Oh my GAWWWD!' was the thought running through my head as she pushed my face further and further in. I felt the wonderful warmth and smoothness of her skin. "This feels..." I said out loud, my voice muffled by her breasts. "...s-so good." I then was aware of something else that I could potentially die from. Suffocation via boobies. I did _not_ want that on my death certificate. 'I-I can't breathe...' I struggled softly so I wouldn't wake her up and was able to surface, but as I did so, the movement of my face against her terrific twosome made her moan very softly in pleasure. At least, that's what I thought it was.

I took a moment to look at her. Her face was set in a way that looked like she had just experienced a small amount of pleasure. Her red hair had fanned out with her red and white fox ears poking out of her hair. Her breathing was soft and steady. 'Man, she's too cute!' I thought. I then made the mistake of looking down and saw her ample sized chest poking through the top of her shirt. 'So round and big...' my thoughts drifted toward the dirty gutter as I saw her breasts move slightly in time with her breathing. 'Wait! No!' I reined in my thoughts before they went past the point of no return. 'I still need to get away. If she comes to the wrong conclusion...' I mentally shuddered. I did not want to go there.

After a few minutes of softly wiggling I managed to get out of the situation. 'All right! I'M FREE!' I cheered and cried at the same time. I was about to move away when I pressed against a wrapper of some kind and it crackled loudly. I instantly froze and was brought down again into Kyuubi's embrace. Her hands were now around my neck but gently. I was still frozen when she began to pull my head toward her again, but this time, her breasts were not the destination.

'W-Wait!' I panicked as her hands drew my mouth closer and closer to hers. Soon only a centimetre separated us.

'K-K-Kyuubi!'

Closer, 5 centimetres.

'AHHHHHHHHH!'

Closer, 1 centimetre.

Then she decided to rub her face against my cheek instead.

'Whew, that was a close one,' I thought to myself. She continued to rub her face against my own. 'Man, is she a fox or a cat?' I thought to myself as I grinned amusedly at her contented one. Unfortunately for me, that wasn't the only part of her body she was rubbing.

'Oh nooooooo,' I thought as her leg began to rub up and down my own legs, especially junior. And he certainly liked the attention. I felt my dick swell and stiffen at the contact as she continued to rub her leg up and down my tool.

'No way! Stop this! N-Not there!' I screamed in my head as her ministrations continued. "F-Fucking hell," I moaned out as she kept on rubbing. Soon I became less worried as the feeling of pleasure strengthened. It wasn't long before I was moaning softly myself. I looked at her face to see that she was still completely asleep. 'I can't believe she's doing this in her sleep. If she keeps doing this I'll cum all over the sheets! I do not want that to happen but if it does then I hope she stops once I do so!'

Using my free hand I snaked my hand down to my pants and in time with her leg I pushed my pants down and released my dick. Her smooth thigh came up and rubbed the complete length and continued to rub up and down. It felt so fucking good on little junior. I threw off the sheets as I didn't want to ruin them.

Then, after several minutes, I came, and came hard. Then again, this was the first time I had ever been in this sort of situation so I guess it was normal. Another piece of good news was that Kyuubi had stopped completely. And she was _still _sleeping.

"Jeez," I breathed before getting out of bed and quickly wiping up the mess I made. I then went into the bathroom and had a cold shower.

After that I walked back and looked at Kyuubi before gently picking her up and placing her back on the bed. 'Well, thankfully it's over now. I'll have to start sleeping in a separate room from now on to avoid a situation like this again.'

I changed the bed sheets, put on new ones and quickly went back to sleep.

* * *

'Not again!'

(Cue song Kaname no Kitchen by Toshihiko Sahashi from Fullmetal Panic Original Sound Track 1)

Somehow Kyuubi was back in my bed and was holding onto me again. Her arms were now around my torso, her legs were wrapped around my own and our tails intertwined. She still seemed to be sleeping. This time she wasn't moving except her breathing.

I pulled away from her and softly disentangled ourselves, careful not to wake her up and blushing as I remembered what happened last night.

I opened the fridge and took out the milk. Pouring myself a glass and taking a swig I replaced the milk with eggs and bacon. I then busied myself with breakfast. As I was in the process of making it I realised that Kyuubi was waking up. I looked over my shoulder and smiled at her.

"Morning Sleeping Beauty," I said before turning back to our breakfast.

"Good morning," she replied back as she pressed her glasses to her face. "Is that breakfast I smell?"

"Sure is and I'm just about finished," I said as I flipped over an egg. A pinging sound told me that the toast had just popped up. I fished two plates out of the cupboard, placed the toast on top and put the fried egg and bacon over the toast. I then handed one to Kyuubi before sitting on my bed.

"Hey Kyuubi. Are you a heavy sleeper?" I asked, trying to sound like I was just mildly curious.

She nodded. "Absolutely. I'm like completely dead when I sleep. Once my friends tried to wake me up and she claimed she tried everything but nothing worked until she put food underneath my nose. I woke up then." She then looked at me, her head tilting to the side and looking very cute in the process. "Why?"

"Because I tried to wake you before, but it didn't work. I figured you would just wake on your own so I began to make breakfast. I guess the smell woke you up," I said, my pre-lie flowing out of my mouth as if it really happened.

"Ok," she said before chomping down on some bacon.

I sighed mentally before I took a bite out of the toast and egg and chewed thoughtfully. I would take the knowledge of last night's activities to the grave and beyond. I then turned to other thoughts. Today was the real Genin test and I was thinking of ways to get the bells of Kakashi so I could give them to my teammates. There was almost no way those two would team up with me and even though I knew Kakashi would give us a second chance I didn't want to go through all that.

I then realised that I didn't know how to hide my new features. I then turned to Kyuubi.

"Kyuubi, do you know how to hide my tails, ears and the fact that I look 30 years old now?" I asked.

"The form you are in now is your Hanyo form. This can't be seen by anyone unless you have deemed them worthy. If so then they will be able to see the whole you. You can just explain your change of eye colour as your new bloodline limit that allows you to shoot Ki energy attacks. Your height can be explained through a growth spurt as you unlocked your Bloodline Limit."

"Yeah, your right. You're so smart," I complimented. She blushed slightly.

I then looked out of the window before looking at my iPhone. It was almost time to do my morning ritual.

"What about you?" I asked.

"The same thing applies. No-one sees my Hanyo form unless I let them," she answered.

"Then do you want to join me?" I asked. She beamed at me and nodded. "I'd love to."

* * *

(Cue song Vana'diel March by Naoshi Mizuta from Final Fantasy XI Original Soundtrack)

After the morning ritual, I jogged over to Training Ground 7 to cool down. It was almost 6am. Before I arrived I made sure Kyuubi was back into the sword shape.

When I got there I found out that Sasuke was there, however Sakura wasn't. Sasuke looked at me and his eyes widened slightly but didn't say anything about my new eye colour or my height boost. A few minutes later saw Sakura trudging up the trail towards us.

"Good morning Haruno," I said. She just yawned loudly and then began to complain about how it was so early. She then saw me and her eyes widened considerably.

"What happened to you? You're so tall! And your eyes? And hair!" she yelled.

"Last night I awakened my bloodline limit. It's not a doujitsu. The eye colour is just a side product. And I guess I got a major height and hair growth along with unlocking it," I lied. Sasuke looked sharply at my mention of a bloodline, but I ignored him.

"What does your bloodline limit do?" she asked.

"You'll see," I said mysteriously.

Right on the dot of 6am Kakashi poofed in front of us. "Yo!" he said cheerfully.

"Morning Kakashi-sensei. You're on time," I greeted.

"Well I thought that I shouldn't be late for my cute student hopefuls," he said. I snorted but said nothing. Kakashi then did a double take on me. "Naruto! What happened to you?" he asked.

I explained, also very discreetly hinting that I would tell him the real reason later. He nodded.

"So everyone is here, eh?" Kakashi looked around to make sure before he pulled out two bells. "The objective of this test is to get one of these bells from me. You get a bell, you pass the test. Simple eh?" The looks on Sakura told everyone that she did think it was simple.

"That's it?" she asked.

"Easy," said Sasuke.

"We'll see," Kakashi smiled. "You have until noon to get these bells from me. Whoever doesn't get a bell doesn't get the lunch I made and gets tied to the post over there." He pointed to the three logs near the memorial stone.

Kakashi turned back to us. "You must come at me with an intent to kill me."

"But sensei, won't you get hurt?" asked Sakura.

I slapped my hand to my face. 'How stupid is this girl?' I thought to myself.

"I'll be fine Sakura," said Kakashi before he tensed. "Ready?" he asked. We all nodded.

"Well then, begin!"

AN: Another chapter done. Keep up the reviews people!


	7. Chapter 7: A Full Day

Albums needed: Final Fantasy XIII OST, Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Original Soundtrack, Dynasty Warriors 5 OST, The Last Remnant Original Soundtrack, Lost Odyssey Original Soundtrack,

**Chapter 7: A Full Day**

We all jumped into the bushes. Sasuke and Sakura were hiding away from me but that didn't matter. My goal was to get the bells. That was the plan. I then made several clones and told them to spread out and serve as a distraction. I then unsealed the thin blade inside the watch and I grinned before I disappeared.

Meanwhile the clones all produced clones of my iPhone and had all selected the song Blinded By Light by Ryo Yamazaki from Final Fantasy XIII Original Soundtrack. The music was in perfect sync as the song blasted out of the bushes. Then all the clones charged out of the bushes, wielding copies of White Requiem.

Kakashi looked around quickly before the battle started. One of the clones lunged with a swipe which Kakashi jumped over. Taking advantage a second clone jumped into the air and stabbed forward at the scarecrow. He was able to twist himself out of the way and delivered a quick and accurate blow to the side of the second clone's head, dispelling him.

The first jumped up with a rising slash from below. Just before the sword hit, Kakashi turned into a log of wood. The sword cut neatly through before the first clone cursed softly and landed. The remaining 5 clones stood back to back with each other, swords ready. The third sensed something in the trees and it threw it's White Requiem clone at the source. The spinning blade of white, black and red sped into the trees and a split second later Kakashi launched out of the trees, going for the weaponless clone. A millisecond later the clone exploded in white smoke.

As this was all happening I was visiting Sasuke and Sakura. Predictably they both said no. Sasuke said that I would just slow him down and that I should just stay out of his way. Sakura said that she would only help if Sasuke was involved. I sighed before hiding in some bushes near the tree line and watched the battle, waiting for the opportune moment.

With only four left the remaining clones went for an all out attack. The four synchronised their moves almost perfectly but Kakashi was simply that much faster. Soon all the clones were gone.

(Cue music silence)

I then walked out from where I was observing and smiled at Kakashi. "Well done Kakashi. I'm sure that was a good warm up. It seems that you're taking this seriously or otherwise you would be reading your Icha Icha Paradise copy."

"Indeed, this is something I can't afford to have my attention somewhere else," said Kakashi.

"Thank you," I bowed slightly before removing the original White Requiem from my back and pointing it at him. "Well ready for round two?" I asked.

"I thought you would never ask," replied Kakashi as he settled into his own stance.

(Cue song Theme of CRISIS CORE "Chaotic Battlefield" by Takeharu Ishimoto from Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Original Soundtrack)

"Well let's see how you deal with this!" I said before launching a small and agile ball of Ki at him. His eyes widened before dodging to the side. The ball of energy connected with the ground and a large dome of light exploded out. The dome was roughly 5 meters high and 5 meters wide. The clearing shook from the impact before settling down after a few seconds.

Kakashi looked to where the dome of light used to be and he gasped softly. There was now a neat crater the same size of the now disappeared dome of light.

"You don't have any time to be distracted!" I yelled in his direction before I launched three more white Ki attacks at him. These were different as they just exploded on contact. Kakashi dodged the first two but the third nicked him slightly. The force of the explosion blew him across the clearing where he turned around in midair and skidded to a halt before standing up. He had scorch marks on his clothes around the area where the Ki energy had skimmed past.

"Impressive Naruto. I've never seen that kind of attack before. Mind explaining it to me?" asked Kakashi.

"I will. After we pass. Which is now," I replied as I held up two bells. Kakashi looked down to see that he wasn't holding the bells anymore. "H-how?" he spluttered out.

(Cue music silence)

"I'll tell you later. Right now you need to call everyone over," I said. Kakashi complied and soon Sasuke and Sakura were standing with us. Sakura was looking at me with awe. Sasuke, however, was glaring at me. I ignored his pissed look and handed him a bell. I then turned to Sakura and gave her one. She looked slightly regretful.

(Cue song INTELLIGENT BOYS by Toru Hasebe from Dynasty Warriors 5 OST)

"Well the good news is that you passed. The bad news is that only Naruto realised the true concept of this test." The other two Genin looked confused. "What do you mean?" asked Sakura.

"Still haven't figured it out, eh?" said Kakashi, disappointed. "It was teamwork. Teamwork was needed to pass the test. Naruto was the only one who knew this and he is the only reason that you two are accepted as Genin by me. I expect you to work extremely hard to overcome this weakness." I smiled. It seemed that Kakashi had his shit together this time.

Sakura was now very regretful. Sasuke looked even more pissed. Probably at the fact that I was the reason that he was accepted.

"Now, you three can have the day off tomorrow. I need to submit the paperwork on you three becoming Genin. Then the day after tomorrow we will start our missions," said Kakashi, smiling. Sakura cheered softly while Sasuke smirked and nodded.

"However, don't expect to get a high ranking mission right away. We, as a team, need to rack up at least 40 D-rank missions before we'll be allowed to go on a C-rank, which will probably be border patrol." I smiled to myself. 'How wrong you'll be,' I thought.

"Ok team. Dismissed!" said Kakashi and he looked about to leave but then he turned back to us. "Oh, by the way. Naruto is the team leader. He will help me teach you two." Cries of protest came from Sasuke and Sakura.

"Why does he get to be the team leader?" said Sasuke, restraining himself from yelling.

"Yeah! He's the dead last! What could he tell us?" yelled Sakura.

"Weren't you watching? Naruto has clearly been holding back immensely. He managed to steal the bells without me noticing. He's clearly more experienced than he's let on. You two could learn something from him," said Kakashi. He wasn't patronising. He was simply giving advice.

The two were silent so Kakashi assumed that they had finished whining. "Meet here at 10am for training the day after tomorrow." He then disappeared in a puff of smoke.

* * *

(Cue song The Yaschas Massif by Masashi Hamauzu from Final Fantasy XIII Original Soundtrack)

"Well I never expected to be made Team Leader," I said to Kyuubi as we walked down the street. As soon as Kakashi had left I made myself scarce before the others noticed. I didn't need questions about my power and strength from my team mates. When I was far enough away and after I made sure no-one was spying on us I pumped some of the little Youki I could control into White Requiem so Kyuubi could change.

"Well I think it's great," she replied. She was currently wearing a black skirt, red shirt with the top few buttons undone, black nylon thigh-high stockings and teacher-like glasses like she was wearing last night. If the outfit wasn't sexy enough, her curvy and voluptuous body plus the glasses certainty made it enough. All the men were drooling at her and all the woman were looking very envious. The attention from the males was making me feel pissed off, though I knew this would happen.

"Josh? Are you alright?" asked Kyuubi as she saw that I was clenching my fists. I realised that I had spaced out in my slight anger.

"Oh sorry," I said as I relaxed. "I'm fine. Just a little tense from all the attention."

Kyuubi looked around before realisation dawned on her face. "Oh I see," she said before she giggled and latched onto my arm, pressing it into her sizable cleavage.

"W-what are y-you d-doing?" I stuttered while trying not to think about her soft, large breasts that my arm was feeling.

"This is so that people will think we're going out and so won't bother us," said Kyuubi innocently. Maybe too innocently.

"Uh, ok," I replied, my mind beginning to go numb.

By the time we got home I was so out of it that I accidently walked into the door before unlocking and opening the door. Kyuubi giggled quite a bit as I fumbled for my keys, my face burning with embarrassment.

(Cue music silence)

When I finally got the door open and stepped inside, there was a surprising greeting for me. In front of me were five multi-tailed foxes sitting neatly on the floor. It looked like they were expecting me. The front one was jet black with red eyes like Kyuubi's. It had six tails swaying slowly in the air behind it. The tips were silver as was the tips of its ears. I then knew its gender when it spoke to me in a deep baritone male voice.

"Are you Josh Ryu Kitsune who is residing in the body of the recently deceased Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto?" he asked.

"Yeah, I am," I answered, curious. As soon as I confirmed his question the group then bowed their heads, their ears flat and their tails at the ground.

"The Kitsune Army pledges it's allegiance to you Commander Kitsune," said the one who spoke to me with extreme respect.

"Ahhh..." I said, not sure of what to do. "Kyuubi? What's going on?"

"One of the benefits of being a guardian is that you get your personal army, as well as being ruler over all beings of their type. The Kitsune Army belongs to the Guardian of the Fire Country, which you are now, plus you are the ruler of all kitsunes who aren't part of the army," explained Kyuubi.

"Swe-he-he-he-he-he-he-het..." I chuckled while grinning.

"Sir! We require you to inspect the army immediately so the troops are aware of the recent change," said the black fox.

"Uh... ok. Lead the way," I said.

"Just place your hand on my head and I'll transport us to our sector of the summoning world." I did so, with Kyuubi holding my hand so she wouldn't be left behind. The black fox then placed the tip of one of its tails on its forehead. It eerily reminded me of Goku using Instant Transmission. Then we were off.

(Cue song The First Awakening by Tsuyoshi Sekito from The Last Remnant Original Soundtrack)

Hardly a millisecond had passed when we arrived. I blinked in the bright sunlight before my eyes focused on what was in front of me. It seemed we were outside. There was lush grass and small white flowers spread across a huge plane. The sky seemed very blue and the light from the sun was less glaring than on Naruto's world. But that was not what I was looking at, open mouthed.

Across the plain as far as I could see were millions and millions of foxes. Most had more than two tails but in the front there were a few young one tailed foxes. And right in the front was a large 8 tailed fox. His fur was a dark indigo colour with the tips of his tails and ears highlighted silver. His eyes were onyx colour as he looked at me.

"Man! There must be a full Army Theater here!" I whispered to Kyuubi in awe. She nodded back. "That's right," she said. "There's exactly 10 million soldiers here and that's the whole army. There's never more or less than that amount for ease of commanding the entire force."

"Ease?" I exclaimed before I thought about it. "Well I guess it would be easier commanding 10 million rather than 9,283,571 units."

The black six tailed fox that brought us here trotted up to the large one and spoke to him. "Sir, I have brought our new ruler to us."

The big one nodded before looking back at me. "You are the new Fire Guardian correct?" he asked.

I nodded.

The big one placed one of his front paws on a spot below his neck and bowed his head. "We pledge our loyalty to you Commander. The Kitsune Army is yours to command," he said with the same respect I received from the black 6 tailed fox from before.

"All hail Commander Kitsune!" he bellowed out and the whole army mirrored his words passionately.

_**"ALL HAIL COMMANDER KITSUNE!"**_

I blinked at the blast of noise that slammed into me. 'Man that was loud!' I thought. 'But this is frigging sweet!'

"I invite you to have dinner with me and my family this evening Commander," said the indigo fox.

"Of course, but I don't even know your name," I said.

"My apologies. I am Kaiden. I shall send my son to your home when it is time. He will arrive at 6:30pm, your time," he said.

"Great," I said.

"And of course the previous guardian Kyuubi is invited," said Kaiden to the vixen at my side. He then turned back to me. "Feel free to walk around and meet some of the troops personally for an hour. When you are ready to depart talk to my subordinate, Jansen," Kaiden said before he bowed and disappeared in a blur of motion.

For the next hour I walked around, getting to know a few of the foxes. By the time the hour was up I had met the ten eight-tailed fox generals responsible for one million units each and 14 four to six tailed fox Captains each with a five fox squad, themselves included. I also met a few of the young kits. Everyone around me (besides Kyuubi) tensed when a little black and white kit got bold and jumped into my arms but they relaxed when I began petting him. His face was snub-looking, almost like a cat's face.

"What's your name then kid?" I asked the little one in my arms.

"Rex," he said in the cutest voice imaginable.

"Well Rex, grow up big and strong, kay? Maybe we'll meet again in the future. And always listen to what your parents tell you. They've been around longer than you," I said to him. He nodded, his large golden eyes shining in the sunlight. "Ok, Mister Commander," he said.

When the hour was up Jansen, the fox that brought me here, walked up to me and nudged my hand with his nose. I looked down as he began to talk to me. "Sir, are you ready to depart?"

"Yes, thankyou Jansen," I replied.

"Yes sir!" he said with enthusiasm before I placed my hand on his head and Kyuubi linked her arm around my own and we were whisked back to my apartment.

(Cue song The Capital of Numara by Nobuo Uematsu from Lost Odyssey Original Soundtrack)

"Well, I guess I need to get some formal wear," I said before turning to Kyuubi. "Kyuubi-chan, does Kaiden change into a hybrid and what would he likely wear?"

Kyuubi nodded. "Yes he does and he usually wears a kimono to formal dinners, especially ones that he hosts."

"Well there has to be a kimono shop somewhere around here," I replied as I began to ruffle through Naruto's memories to find a place. It didn't take long to find one. "Ok, found the place," I said before I realised that Kyuubi was still wearing what she was yesterday. "Uh, any chance you could change into something formal as well?"

She nodded. "I'll change before we leave."

I then looked at the time on my iPhone. It was 1:27. "We have plenty of time but we'll go now just in case something comes up." I then picked up my keys and we walked out of the apartment.

It didn't take long to find the place that resided in Naruto's memories. Once inside I was measured for my size before I looked around for the design I wanted. I chose a white kimono with a gold trim. I went first and she smiled when I came out. I became slightly weak in the knees when I saw that smile but shook myself mentally. But when Kyuubi came out with her personal kimono my jaw dropped.

The kimono was black with a red trim. Red Sakura blossom prints danced their way from her right shoulder to her left foot. She continued to wear the same glasses as she smiled and turned around so I could see all of her. I half wished she didn't for I was able to see how voluptuous her body was. She was a bombshell.

"Well? What do you think?" she asked.

"Uhh...um... I..I think ...y...you look g...great," I stuttered before I swallowed my nervousness and added "Beautiful."

She blushed deeply. "Th...thanks," she replied, also stumbling over her answer.

"Anyway, we should get back. We have nothing to do until we get picked up," I said, changing the subject.

"Yeah," she replied. Before she went back inside and came out with her usual black skirt, red shirt and black thigh high stockings.

I bought the kimono and we walked out of the shop. As we walked back I was looking at Kyuubi's hand and was trying to summon up the courage to hold it. Eventually I did and Kyuubi immediately looked at me a little shocked.

"Uh... cause this way people'll leave us alone, right?" I asked hesitantly, wondering if she would buy it. Thankfully she did as she smiled and shifted her hand so we were interlocking fingers. I was on Cloud 9 as we trekked the rest of the way home.

As soon as we arrived home she turned to me and asked the question I was hoping she wouldn't ask.

(Cue music silence)

"So what was the real reason you wanted to hold hands with me?" she asked suspiciously innocent.

"Uh... I don't know what you're talking about," I replied while inside I was panicking.

"Oh come on. You can tell me," she said softly while walking towards me, trying to pressure me into confessing.

"Um... well... it's like... uhh..." I floundered as she got closer and closer, her hips swaying seductively. 'Oh god!' I thought as I tore my eyes on her hips and focused on her face. Which was a mistake. A big one.

Her eyes were wide, innocent and questioning. 'Oh fucking hell! She's doing the dreaded Puppy Eyes!'

"Uh...um... well... it's because... I," I began as she stopped with a couple of inches parting our faces.

"Yes?" she asked, prodding me on.

"Because I... I love you," I finally confessed what had been in my mind ever since I developed the feelings in the Training Room.

"Really?" she asked, her eyes glowing with...hope?

'Hope? Then is it possible...?' I questioned in my mind before confirming what my heart was screaming out.

"Yes, it's true," I said before I was glomped to the ground. I looked up to see Kyuubi smiling brilliantly.

"Oh Josh, I feel the same as you. I love you too!" she said and my whole world shuddered to a halt.

'What did she say? Did she say that she loves me too?' were my thoughts as time started moving again.

"Really?" I asked.

(Cue song Under The Surface by Shawan Rising)

***Lemon***

Kyuubi answered in a most pleasant way. She kissed me. And it was beautiful. It was like I was kissing an angel, even though I hadn't kissed any angels of late. But if I had been, then I would definitely say that this was like it. I then responded to the kiss and suddenly felt a little daring. I opened my mouth and licked her lips. She smiled into the kiss before opening her own and allowing me access. I slid my tongue in and began exploring her mouth. She strangely tasted sweet, like vanilla ice cream. My tongue began to rub up against her own and she moaned softly before intertwining her own with mine. She was still moaning and it was giving me an erection. And since she was still lying on top of me there was no doubt she could feel it.

But to my surprise she just moaned louder and she began to rub her crotch up and down my half hardened dick which just hardened it up fully. I then began to smell something quite pleasant. I didn't know what the smell was but this wasn't the first time I had smelt the smell before.

Ever since my... 'rebirth' so to speak, all my senses had jumped several levels. The first time I smelt this smell was when I was walking down in my new clothes. At the time I thought it was just some new shop selling sweet things. But now I was smelling it again. With a mental start I realised that I was smelling Kyuubi's pheromones that were coming off her in waves. And it smelled very good. I couldn't even describe it.

She began to pant as well as moan which was driving me crazy. I raised my hand and touched her nylon covered leg. I slowly, very slowly moved it up her leg until it touched the hem of her skirt. I held there for a moment before dipping it under the fabric and continuing up, past her stocking until I felt her underwear. I squeezed her bum and she responded by breaking the kiss and breathing out, "Oh Josh!" huskily.

I took this chance to raise my other hand to her right breast and kneading it through the fabric. She moaned my name loudly and I was fascinated by how much control I had over her. Releasing my hold on her bum and breast I began to pull her clothes off. First her vest, then her strap shirt, showing her black bra holding her sizable breasts. I then removed her skirt until she was just clad in her underwear and stockings.

She then began to undress me. Since I was only wearing casual clothes it didn't take her long until I was stripped of all clothes. She then pressed her face close to mine and whispered in a lustful voice, "My turn."

She then gripped my manhood and began stroking it painfully slow. Up and down, up and down.

"Oh god Kyuu-chan," I growled out as she increased her speed. Up and down, up and down. Then I growled out loudly as my dick entered her hot, wet mouth. She began pumping my dick, her head bobbing up and down while my senses went into overdrive. Never had I felt such pleasure in all my life. I was in a sexual coma. She continued on, her sucking accompanied with her moaning was driving me close to the edge.

"K...Kyuu-chan! I'm gonna cum!" I said loudly but she just sped up, licking and sucking. Soon it was too much to bare and I released right into her mouth. I felt numb all over; any minuscule movement caused a surge of pleasure to shoot through my body; I could feel myself still emptying into Kyuubi's mouth. Once my orgasm ended I looked at the goddess that caused it only to see her smiling up at me while she licked her lips sexily, lapping up the last remnants of my 'milk'.

"Kyuu-chan, that was... was... yeah. Where'd you learn to do that?" I asked, still panting slightly.

"Well I've been around for quite a while. You tend to learn these things when you're 7000 years old," she said while winking. "You tasted good too," she added, making me blush.

"Well I have to say, for a woman of 7000, you look absolutely radiant." She blushed at the complement before I pushed her down. "Don't think you can get all the fun," I grinned before I unstrapped her bra, releasing D-cup breasts. They were perfectly round and her nipples were already stiff. I took one in my mouth and began sucking while at the same time my hands were occupied in different places, one on the other breast while the other snaked down her stomach and came to a stop on her panties. I discovered that the fabric was completely drenched in her juiced already so I rubbed my fingers against the fabric where her opening was.

"Josh! Oh Josh-kun! More! Harder!" she began to yell out. I complied by speeding up my movement on her nether area. She began to moan louder than ever and in the back of my mind I realised that she was a screamer. 'Oh goodie!' I thought before releasing her breasts and using both hands I slowly pulled her black stockings and panties off.

Her pussy was wet and ready. She also had no pubic hair and the skin was smooth. I grinned before I began to kiss and lick her inner thighs. She moaned and panted but I continued my ministrations around that area. I ran my hands under her thighs and rubbed her ass.

"Oh god Josh-sama!" Kyuubi moaned loudly.

'Sama?' I questioned before grinning mentally.

I then paused before pressing my mouth to her entrance and tasting her. She arched her back as I turned her juice over in my mouth. It also tasted like vanilla ice cream only much more addicting. I then began to lick and slurp at her juices and sucked on her clit while continuing to knead her round ass.

"Fuck yes! Oh! It feels so good! More!" demanded Kyuubi and I was too happy to oblige. I continued my assault on her pussy and before long I felt her walls contract as my tongue was inside her. She was near.

"Josh-sama! I'm cumming!" she screamed and I sped up, wanting more.

"Oh my god! JOSH-SSSSAAAAAAMMMMMAAAAAAA!"

She eventually released and I pressed my mouth hard up against her pussy as she sprayed her cum into my mouth; her body jerking unconsciously. As I swallowed it I discovered that it still tasted like vanilla ice cream but with a bit of a salty aftertaste.

I raised my head and grinned. "You tasted good too. You like that?" I asked. She just nodded as her recent orgasm had taken her ability to speak temporally.

As soon as she had calmed down we readied ourselves for what was next. My dick was erected again thanks to a long lick from Kyuubi. For this one Kyuubi was on top, no surprise there. I didn't mind. In fact I liked it. She then lowered herself onto my and I again felt a huge amount of pleasure as her pussy took in my dick. She was _so_ tight! We then began to move, in and out, in and out. We easily synced our movements and began to speed up. The bed we had now moved to was squeaking slightly from the movement and Kyuubi kissed me before sitting upright and jolting up and down in time. Her hair was pressed against her body and her breasts were bouncing up and down. I brought my hands forward and began squeezing them while pinching her nipples. She was screaming out my name as I was yelling hers. My dick was penetrating deep into her as her walls rubbed every millimetre of my manhood. I don't know how long we went at it. The time just seemed to fly past so quickly. Then, as I felt the knot inside me begin to loosen up, her walls clamped around my dick and I knew she was close. We sped up even faster, getting closer and closer before we both screamed out as we both came at the exact same time.

**"End of Lemon*  
**

We collapsed on our backs together, panting. "That... was... amazing!" said Kyuubi between breaths.

"It... was. Considering that... I was a virgin until a... minute ago," I said.

Kyuubi turned onto her side to face me. "Really?" she asked. I nodded. In response she kissed me lightly. "Well, I'm glad I was your first."

"I'm glad too," I replied. "It was probably because we've been reading Jiraiya's porn masterpieces," I suggested. "Well, that's my reason for being as good as I was."

"Maybe you're just a natural," murmured Kyuubi. "You know... instants and all that."

I smiled before pulling her close and scratching her fox ears. She smiled and began to purr and I wondered for the first time in what would be a million times how she could do that. This little post-sex attention stopped abruptly when I glanced at the clock and saw the time. 6:20.

"Oh shit!" I yelled as I jumped out of bed and rushed to the shower.

"What's wrong?" asked Kyuubi from the main room.

"Look at the time!" I yelled from the shower. There were a few seconds of silence before a yell, sounds of scrambling and Kyuubi burst through the door and jumped into the shower.

"Ah! Kyuu-chan! What are you doing?" I asked.

(Cue music silence)

***mini-lemon activated***

"There's no time for separate showers. We'll just have to wash each other," she said while grabbing the soap and proceeded to wash me. She did it quite quickly so I had no time to get an erection. She then handed me the soap and I began on her, however I moved a little slower. I started on her legs and moved the soap up her thighs, stopped to insert a soapy finger to wash her pussy (and enjoyed the moans that came from her). I then washed her backside and back before moving to her chest. I paid extra attention to her breasts and made sure to wash down her cleavage. Then I soaped down her neck to finish. She kissed me and it would have continued on to more if I didn't pull away at that point.

***mini-lemon deactivated***

"We'll have to do an episode of this sometime," I said huskily. Her response was nodding and licking her lips in such a sensual way that I almost snapped. We then got out; I dried myself off with a towel but Kyuubi just used some sort of blue fire to dry herself. When I asked what it was she said she would tell me later.

As we were dressing I said, "I can't believe I lasted for three hours." I then grinned. "I guess we were having a really good time," I added, the sarcastic words dripping from my mouth.

We then finished dressed and waited as the last few seconds ticked away.

On the dot of 6:30 there was a poof of smoke in the middle of the room and when the smoke cleared there stood a three-tailed lavender coloured fox. He stood only roughly 4 foot tall and had white fur on the tips of his three tails and his ears. His blue eyes looked at me before nodding his head at me.

"Good evening Commander. My name is Trunks, son of Kaiden. I'm here to escort you to our house. Are you ready?" he asked in a voice that sounded exactly like the English voice actor who played Trunks in Dragonball Z. 'Yet another similarity,' I thought to myself.

I nodded. "Yes Trunks, we are ready." Kyuubi and I then placed our hands on top of his head and we all vanished.

Less than a second later we arrived at our destination. It was smaller than I thought it would be as I thought Kaiden would live in a mansion. It was instead a large house, probably half the size of my apartment building.

'Jeez, I've only been here for a week and I'm already calling Naruto's apartment my own,' I thought to myself as I continued to look around.

Trunks then morphed into a hybrid like Kyuubi and I were. He looked exactly like Trunks in DragonBall Z. Lavender hair (more wilder and spikier than his DBZ form), sharp blue eyes and strong muscles that softly showed through the kimono he wore which was mostly blue and black. His lavender tails with white tips swayed slowly behind him. He then walked up to the stained oak double doors and opened them. He looked back and beckoned us in.

(Cue song Take Ten by Paul Desmond)

The first room of the house was magnificent. It seemed to be a formal living room of some sort. The floor was a finely polished and stained wooden affair, giving the room an immediate 'home' type quality. In the middle of the room was an ornate oriental styled rug, with various dragons seeming to coil around the tapestry, giving it an almost ethereal quality. The walls were panelled oak, stained to be a slightly darker colour than normal oak. On the walls hung various paintings, interspersed so not as to be too _full_ in the room.

On the far wall sat a large fireplace, and on top of the mantle sat a sheathed Katana, roughly five feet total in length, with a fine cloth wrapped hilt that made up for at least a foot and a half of the total length. The sheath was black, with a coiling red fox surrounding it, and the curve of the blade suggested that it was a Samurai styled Katana rather than a Ninja styled straight edge, or Ninjato. The hand guard was jet black, in contrast with the white ivory cloth of the handle. Underneath the Katana sat a completely different sword. Its design was western and was an exact replica of Trunks' sword. Even the sheath was the same.

On the ceiling there was a rather simple chandelier that brightly lit the room, along with the help of two west facing windows that allowed the sunset light to flow in freely. There was a cloth draped couch and what looked to be various recliners situated to either side of it, all of them facing the fireplace and the rug. All in all, it was a tremendously inviting scene.

"This way please, my father and mother are inside the dining room," said Trunks and we continued through the house.

"You have a very nice home Trunks," I said as we walked toward the door that led outside the sitting room.

"Thank you Commander," replied the lavender haired teen.

"Please, just call me Josh," I said.

"Sure... Josh."

We then walked through the door and into the dining room. It seemed to be made for quite a few people. The table was long and narrow, and was lined on either side by plush chairs that resembled the recliners in the living room. A chandelier hung from the ceiling, once again brightly illuminating the room, and the design was very similar to the living room. Soft jazz was playing through a set of small speakers situated in the four corners of the room. I recognised the song too. It was Take Ten by Paul Desmond.

On one end of the table was Kaiden. He had dark purple hair that hung to his waist in thick tendrils and his onyx eyes were sharp, but kind. He wore a light silver kimono with a blue trim. He smiled and stood up to greet me.

"Greetings Commander and past Commander. Welcome to my home," he said warmly.

"Thank you for having us," I replied back.

"You've met my son, Trunks already. My wife will be out soon, she's just finishing up the dinner," he told me. He then gestured to the table. "Please, sit." We took our seats while Trunks sat opposite us with a seat between him and his father.

"So, how are you settling into your new role as Fire Guardian?" asked Kaiden.

"Well enough, but I really haven't done anything yet," I replied.

"Well that's where we come in. Aside from helping in battle we also do most of the border patrol. If anything suspicious happens we report to you what we've seen."

"Useful," I commented before someone new entered from a second door wheeling a food tray. She was indeed beautiful, not to the extent of Kyuubi however. She had flowing blond hair and warm green eyes. Her smile made me feel safe. She had some sort of motherly aura that put everyone at ease.

"You must be Josh, the army's new Commander, and our new ruler," she checked. I nodded before she continued. "My name is Ren. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise Ren. Thank you for making the food," I said as I eyed the food that she was serving out. There were no exotic dishes and they all were familiar to me. There was large slabs of steak with baked potatoes and carrots that were crisped to perfection. Peas, beans, broccoli and spinach were on the table and there was gravy for the veggies. I swallowed the saliva that was suddenly pooling in my mouth at the sight of all this delicious food. "This looks absolutely great," I said as I was handed a plate. I kept my manners and waited until everyone was served. We all said "Itadakimasu!" before we began.

I could honestly say that the meal I had was the utter best ever. No words could describe the euphoria my taste buds were experiencing. As we ate we talked about a few things, mostly past stories about Kaiden and Kyuubi. Then dessert came. It was golden syrup dumplings with cream. This dish I could describe in one word. Heavenly! Then at last we moved to the sitting room where hot mugs of chocolate and coffee while Kaiden and Ren had wine.

"Well I hope you enjoyed the meal," said Kaiden as he sipped his red wine.

"Completely. I haven't had such a delicious dinner in ages," I replied.

"I'm glad you like it," said Ren, smiling.

"Now I have a favour to ask of you," said Kaiden, suddenly serious.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I want you to take Trunks with you when you go back." He then turned to his son and smiled. "He's very smart, but lacks life experience. It is my hope that he one day takes over from me as 2nd in Command. I'm not as young as I used to be so that day is rapidly approaching. I'm hoping that, with you, he will gain the necessary experience. We've talked it over and he agrees with me." He then turned back to me. "Is this possible?"

I smiled. "Sure it is. I don't mind at all."

Kaiden's face relaxed in obvious relief. "Thank you. He won't be a burden, I promise."

"I don't doubt it," I said.

"Thank you very much Josh. I look forward to working with you," said Trunks to me, seemingly excited. I smiled.

"As do I Trunks."

We then spent the next hour filling Kaiden in on what has been happening since the disappearance of his previous commander, Kyuubi. I then explained where I was from and what my world was like.

Just before we departed back to Konoha, Kaiden gave me something I wasn't expecting. A triple barrelled handgun. The design was not unlike Cerberus from Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus however the dogs were replaced with fox heads on the end of the barrels. The pediment was absent but aside from these two changes the gun was identical.

"I've heard that you aren't in full control of the youki flowing through you is this correct?" he asked. I nodded.

"Use this gun to summon regiments of high-level foxes until you can summon us on your own since you need to use youki to summon the high-level ranking summons. But it shouldn't take too long as it doesn't take large amounts of youki to summon us, unlike regular chakra. You should be able to summon a large army by the time you master the second tail."

"Thank you Kaiden," I said, bowing.

"Not at all Commander. You are welcome here anytime," replied the dark purple haired fox hybrid.

We were then transported back to our home. I unfolded the spare futon for Trunks and went to sleep with Kyuubi holding me close in her arms.


	8. Chapter 8: The Mission Comes

Albums needed: Devil May Cry: The Animated Series OST, Final Fantasy XI Unreleased Tracks Album, Final Fantasy: Unlimited OST, Final Fantasy XIII Original Soundtrack, Dead Or Alive Xtreme 2 OST, .hack/SIGN Original Soundtrack 2, Final Fantasy XI Original Soundtrack.

* * *

**Chapter 8: The Mission Comes**

(Cue song Life Is On You by Kenji Fujii; Suble from Devil May Cry: The Animated Series OST)

I awoke to a most pleasant sight. Kyuubi was still holding on to me and our limbs were intertwined with each other, including our tails. I smiled and felt such a feeling of completeness that a stray tear escaped my eye and ran down my cheek. I began to pull away but realised that it was going to be a problem as the vixen had a strong grip on me. I pondered on how to get out when I mentally slapped myself. _Just wake her up you idiot. _I then kissed her and she let out a cute moan before she opened her eyes and smiled at the sight of me.

"Good morning beautiful," I said to her.

"Mmmm," she sighed in contentment. "Good morning to you too, handsome."

"I really hate to leave but I need to cook our breakfast," I said, hoping that she would move. But she didn't.

"Ohhh! Do you have to?" she whined while giving me that damn Puppy Eyes that so far has had a success rate of 100%. I was just about to give in when, at the same time, both our stomachs growled out.

"And I was just about to say yes too, but it seems our tummies have other plans," I said before she nodded and released me. I then got to work on the food, making sure to cook extra as I was now feeding three mouths. While I was cooking I heard a yawn and turned to see Trunks rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He wore a loose blue shirt and black boxers for his sleepwear.

"Morning Trunks!" I called from where I was at. He turned to me and smiled sleepily. "Morning Comma- oh wait, Josh," he corrected. I nodded at him before returning to my work. As we all sat down to eat I laid out our plans for the day. We would first go to the Hokage's and get two of those special passports that allows the non-ninja to exit and return to the village as many times as they want for Trunks and Kyuubi. For Trunks, this was so he could go with us on missions. For Kyuubi, however, was so she actually had some ID encase someone was suspicious about her when she was out of her sword form. Then next was to meet up at Training Ground 7 for our team meeting and training.

As I dressed in my usual casual wear I looked over to Kyuubi to see she was dressing in a white dress which moulded well around her generous curves. The skirt was short; halfway down her thighs and she slipped on a pair of white Tsunade styled sandals. To finish off the image she slipped on her glasses. The length of the skirt and the glasses gave her a sexy edge but overall she looked like a red haired angel.

I grinned. "You know Hiruzen, Kakashi and Sasuke are gonna do a double take on you, right?" I asked.

She nodded. "I know, but I want to look good for first impressions. Besides, what's wrong with showing Sasuke what he'll never have," she smiled.

"True," I agreed. "Plus I know you'll never cheat on me so I guess we can rub Sasuke's nose in it." I walked over to her and kissed her passionately on the lips. She responded by moaning and allowing me access to her wondrous mouth. I pressed her close to my body and felt her breasts rub against my chest. Our tails intertwined closely and I ran my hand up her leg and under her skirt, sliding it up and up...

We broke off, well actually I did even though I didn't want to. "We'll never get out of the house if we continue," I spoke softly, slightly out of breath.

"Yeah, good point," she replied, also panting slightly from the intimate action.

Before we left I created a few shadow clones. "Ok, listen up! In the next few months we are going to have new people living here and we need to turn this entire complex into a comfortable home. I need you to henge into people I've met from back on earth and go order what we need for the intensive renovation that is coming up. I need rental orders of power tools, hand tools, power boards and such. Also I need orders of timber, nails, screws, and other building materials. When you are finished you then go to the library and start reading up construction manuals and books for the rest of the day. Is everyone clear on what they need to do?"

"Yes sir!" they all chorused back.

"Very well. Everyone begin your assigned duties."

There was a brief scramble before everyone disappeared out of the window in their henged forms. I then turned to my friend and lover. "Shall we?"

(Cue song Sunbreeze Shuffle by Naoshi Mizuta from Final Fantasy XI Unreleased Tracks Album)

The three of us then trooped over to the Hokage Tower and climbed up the stairs. When we reached the top the receptionist was at her desk, writing away on a scroll. As soon as we approached her she looked up and smiled at me. It seemed she wasn't a Naruto hater.

"Hokage-sama is free at the moment. Ever since he learned the Kage Bunshin trick for helping out the paperwork he's had a lot more free time. You and your friends can go right in." I smiled back at her and thanked her before knocking on the door.

"Come in," I heard on the other side of the door. I reached for the handle and we walked in.

Inside was a different sight to what I was expecting. I expected to see the old man behind his desk as usual. Instead I saw four clones working on the large stack of paperwork while the real one was looking out of the window that overlooked the village. He turned around and instantly smiled as he saw me.

"Ah, Naruto, good to see you. I heard you passed the test with flying colours." I smiled and rubbed the back of my head. "Yeah, I guess I kinda overwhelmed Kakashi at one point."

Hiruzen nodded before he noticed the two others in the room. And did a double take on Kyuubi. "K-Kushina?" he asked in disbelief.

"No," I smiled as I pointed to the red head. "This is Kyuubi; ex-Defender of Fire Country, ex-commander of the Kitsune Army and my girlfriend." At the end of this little explanation the Hokage was bug eyed. "Your g-g-g-g-girlfriend?"

I nodded before slipping my arm around her waist, but not before I gave her bum a small squeeze. Her eyes widened in slight surprise before she looked at me out of the corner of her eyes and smiled sexily at me.

"I... see," said the Hokage before he composed himself and brought forward his hand. "Well it's a pleasure to meet you at last Miss Kyuubi."

"Likewise, in person that is," she replied, shaking his outstretched hand.

"I'm sorry I mistook you for Kushina. You just look so much like her," said the wizened old man.

"Oh, not a problem," replied Kyuubi, smiling. I then looked Kyuubi up and down for a few seconds before turning to Hiruzen. "She does look like Kushina, doesn't she? Especially with such long, fiery red hair."

"Indeed," agreed Hiruzen before he looked slyly at me. "That was fast," he added with a wink at me.

"Well to be honest she sort of forced a confession out of me," I replied, smiling sheepishly.

"I see," the Hokage said before turning to the other male.

"This is Trunks, son of Kaiden who is second-in-command in the Kitsune army. He's here to get some life experience from Ningenkai," I explained.

"Nice to meet you," said the old man as he shook Trunks' hand. "Same here," replied the lavender haired man.

(Cue song Genius Scientist Cid by Akifumi Tada from Final Fantasy: Unlimited OST)

"So, the Kitsune Army? I suppose you are in command?" asked Hiruzen.

"Yeah. Found out yesterday. It was a real shock to find out that I now command 10 million kitsune soldiers," I admitted.

"10 million!" shouted the Hokage in shock.

I nodded. "Yeah. Kind of daunting, ain't it?"

"Indeed... 10 million. With that kind of military power behind you, there isn't anything you could do," said Hiruzen warily.

"Well while the Kitsune Army answers to me and other trusted officers, I will summon several battalions for the defence of Konoha if needed. I promise you," I said, completely serious.

Hiruzen let out a heavy sigh. "That's good. I'm always constantly worrying about the day when a country with a military larger than ours will stand to invade us. With your help, we can stay protected. And don't worry. I wouldn't think of using you and your army to conquer the world. I'm working towards peace."

We then approached the Hokage and placed our hands on his shoulders. We focused before stepping back. "What was tha..." began Hiruzen but the words died on his lips as he looked at our Hanyo forms. "This," I said as I did a once turn around, "Is what we truly look like. I'm a Hanyo or half-demon. Had to become one eventually so I decided that now was as good a time as any."

"I... I see," said Hiruzen as he calmed down. "So can anyone see you like that?" he asked.

"No, we ourselves deem who's fit to see our true forms," I explained while Kyuubi and Trunks nodded along.

"Now the reason I came here is that I need you to issue two civilian passes to Kyuubi and Trunks. Is that possible?" I asked. He nodded. "Sure thing. I'll have them ready by the end of today. I just need an alias for Kyuubi for obvious reasons."

"Yeah... ... ...uh, I can't think of a good name. Can I get back to you on that?" I asked.

"Sure thing. Just come by or send a clone if you're busy at the time," he replied.

"Thanks. Now it's time to get to our first team meeting," I said before bowing to the Hokage and exiting the room.

(Cue song Daddy's Got the Blues by Masashi Hamauzu from Final Fantasy XIII Original Soundtrack)

We then all walked toward Training Ground 7. It didn't take long before we were there. Sasuke and Sakura were already waiting. As soon as the two noticed us, Sakura began to interrogate me.

"Naruto, who are these two?" she asked in a tone that said it was an order, not a question.

"This is Trunks and he's a good friend of mine," I introduced, pointing to Trunks, who bowed slightly at her. Sakura took one good look at him before she blushed deeply and began to look at him in a very lustful way. I didn't blame her. If I was a girl I would be too. Trunks' looks were as close to the anime as possible, aside from him being a Kitsune. His large muscles showed clearly through the clothes he was wearing, which consisted of loose black pants, black muscle shirt and an open blue jacket. His sharp blue eyes were enough to turn any girls head towards him. Plus being the son of Kaiden he was almost as close to being royalty as the real thing, therefore he was a prince, of sorts.

"Sorry, he's taken," I lied to get Sakura to give up on him. It worked as she pouted slightly but turned away. Sasuke, however, was looking at Kyuubi intensely.

"What about her?" he asked, trying to sound uninterested and failing completely. Everyone there could tell that Sasuke had a large interest in Kyuubi.

"Her name is Dawn and she is my girlfriend," I answered, thinking up a name on the spot. I then realised I had thought of the name. I looked at Kyuubi and she smiled back. Smiling myself I created a clone and sent it mental commands to report the name to Hiruzen. It nodded before taking off quickly.

"Just a little thing I forgot to do before," I explained to Sakura as she had a confused look on her face.

"Heh, why she chose you baffles me completely," said Sasuke, trying to sound cool. "It's obvious that she needs to be with someone who can satisfy her."

"Oh and I suppose you can?" I asked. He nodded, looking all smug. "Well then, why don't you ask her which of us she prefers," I suggested.

Sasuke smirked at me before walking up to Kyuubi aka Dawn and asked her out. No romancing business, just flat out asking. Out of the corner of my eye I saw that Sakura was both saddened and infuriated. However I saw that Sasuke was just lusting after her and wasn't interested in her personally. Kyuubi seemed to think so as she turned her back on him and stood closer to me while wrapping her arm around me. I turned to her and we made out on the spot, right in front of Sasuke and Sakura. Sasuke's eyes grew hard with suppressed fury but Sakura slowly walked up to me with her fist cocked.

"Na-ru-to! What do you think you're doing!" she growled out.

I broke off from the current kiss and looked at her. "What does it look like? We're having a make out session here. You're welcome to join in if you want," I teased before turning back to the kiss. Sakura instantly reddened.

"You get away from that poor girl now Naruto-baka!" she yelled before she swung her fist at me. I was just about to block when Kyuubi grabbed her hand before it could hit me.

"Don't you dare talk to my Naruto-kun like that or you'll be very sorry!" she growled herself. 'Phew,' I thought, thankful she remembered to call me Naruto in public.

"I'm sorry Dawn-san but it seems that you don't know what you're getting into being with this idiot," Sakura tried to reason but Kyuubi just shook her head.

"You obviously know nothing about Naruto-kun. He's everything you could ever want in a life partner," she said, her eyes overflowing with love from behind her glasses. Her words made me smile softly in happiness. I then turned to Sakura.

"By the way Sakura, that was strike one."

At this point Kakashi showed up.

"Hi guys. Ready for your first mission?" he asked before he noticed the two new additions. "Oh? Who are these two?" He added, looking a lot more at Kyuubi than at Trunks.

"This is Trunks and Dawn," I introduced. I noticed that he was still staring at Kyuubi and so I sighed before adding forcefully, "my _girlfriend_."

Kakashi got the hint and shook his head slightly before looking at both of them equally. "Hello there. I'm Hatake Kakashi, Team 7's sensei. I assume you two are with Naruto?" he asked. They both nodded. "Well you're welcome to stay with us if you want. We're just about to go on our first mission as a team so it won't be very exciting," apologised Kakashi.

"That's quite alright Kakashi-san. We're just waiting for Naruto-kun to finish up here as we have extensive work to do at the house as we are both moving in," replied Kyuubi.

"I see," nodded the one eyed ninja before addressing his team. "Ok team, let's get this done quickly so then you three can get off early. We'll be knocking off a mission or two every day except on weekends. That means that it will be at least a month and a half before we get our first C-rank mission. For now, we have D-ranks to contend with. I must apologise upfront that the D-ranks will be very easy, most of them are made up of chores issued by the villagers. Don't expect anything big. The reason for these D-rank missions is to improve teamwork. Once you have racked up enough experience, 40 D-ranks at the least, you're allowed a C-rank. Does everyone understand?" he asked. We nodded. I was smiling as Kakashi was opening up quite a lot thanks to my speech 2 days ago.

"Ok, let's do it!" he said enthusiastically and we all trooped off for the Hokage Tower.

(Cue song Holla! By Baha Men from Dead Or Alive Xtreme 2 OST)

For the next month and a half it was quite the same. We got up, ate breakfast, helped a little with the construction of the Kitsune Manor as that was the name we agreed on. Then we went to meet up with the rest of Team 7, do a mission, go back home, continue building, dinner then sleep. Since Trunks was still sleeping in the same room as Kyuubi and me, we couldn't have sex. But we managed with little episodes every now and then. Kyuubi also explained what the blue fire was when she used it to dry herself the other day. It was called FoxFire. The name I wasn't surprised at. However what I was surprised at was that you could raise or lower the temperature of the flames to almost any level. Could be as hot as lightning, or as cold as absolute zero, or -273 degrees centigrade; 0 on the Kelvin scale. Quite impressive. She also said that with me being a kitsune hanyo I could use FoxFire as well.

Within this time I had explained everything to Kakashi about Kyuubi and Trunks, my new bloodline limit, my new body as well as allowing him access to see me in my Hanyo form as well as Kyuubi and Trunks. He was quite surprised but got over it quite quickly. He also regarded me more as an adult now that he wasn't talking to a kid physically.

A few of the missions we did were familiar to me as I remembered they were from the Naruto: Storm game, as well as some activities to do in our free time. One of these activities was when the three of us were walking around town when we ran into Gai and Lee. We had seen these two a few times on our morning runs around Konoha and so we became acquainted and friends with Lee. The first time I introduced Trunks to the two it was a little rocky.

***Flashback***

"Trunks, this is Might Gai," I said.

"_Might_? What kind of dumb fucked name is Might?"

***End Flashback***

Suffice to say he apologised profusely after he realised he had said that out loud. Trunks explained that sometimes he would just blurt out what he was thinking without regard to who he was talking. Blamed it on ancient genes from an ancestor called Vegeta. I kept my mouth shut from this little slice of info. Lee hadn't become anything more than just a good friend but after this little side quest, he would become a good sparring partner.

"Well met Naruto-san!" said Lee as we approached.

"Well met indeed Lee," I smiled. I turned to Gai and bowed slightly to him. "Gai-sensei. What are you two doing today?"

"We recently sent out a challenge for anyone who wanted to participate in extreme sparring," said Gai with Lee nodding.

"Extreme sparring?" I asked. What they considered extreme must be downright suicidal for anyone else.

"That's right! Extreme sparring where you have a handicap!" explained Lee.

"A handicap huh?" I said thoughtfully. "Ok, we'll do it!" I said after looking at Trunks as Kyuubi wouldn't be doing this as she was still just a spirit given a temporal physical body to use and was only as strong as the amount of youki inside of her. It would look suspicious. Plus at this point I was only able to control half a tail's worth of youki. She would get thrashed by Gai or even Lee.

"Are you ready for your trial by fire!" yelled Gai.

"Sure," I said while we wiggled our fingers inside of our ears to get rid of the ringing sound. "What Training ground?"

"Number 22," supplied Lee and they both leapt away.

I turned to Trunks. "You ready for this?" I asked him. He grinned. "Yeah, I've been meaning to brush up on my taijutsu skills," he said.

5 minutes later we were at Training Ground 22. Gai and Lee were already there, waiting.

"Who goes first?" I asked.

Gai stepped forward. "I will!" he yelled.

"In that case," I said as I looked at Trunks. He nodded and walked towards him. "I'll spar with you."

"The rules are no chakra using techniques at all. This is a pure taijutsu fight," said Gai.

The following battle was quite close. Gai realised that he couldn't take it easy on him and so he went full out minus opening the gates. Trunks was just as good with fighting as he was in the anime. Maybe better. His attacks were fluid and strong, making Gai wince on more than one occasion. The fighting was furiously fast that I almost had a hard time keeping up with them. After 5 minutes of this lightning fast sparring match the two split. Both were panting slightly.

When Lee and I sparred it was quite hard to keep up with him. He was also fast, though not as fast as Gai. Still, I wasn't as fast as Trunks. But I was able to land a few hits on him though I was aware he was wearing weights. By the time we had finished we were sporting a few bruises and were panting heavily.

"That was amazing Naruto-kun! It's been awhile since I've had such a vigorous spar with someone other than Gai-sensei!" said Lee after catching his breath.

"Likewise Lee. I enjoyed our spar," I said, smiling at him.

"Yosh! We should do this more often!" yelled Gai, causing us to close our eyes momentarily from the noise.

That day when we arrived back at the Kitsune Manor, I noticed two objects on my bed. The first one was a foxy wallet. It looked like Naruto's Gama-chan wallet in design but it was shaped in a fox instead. And next to the wallet was a white and black harmonica.

"Awesome!" I said as I picked up the instrument. Back home I played the harmonica. I considered myself good at playing but didn't perform in a band or anything. It was just played to pass the time. This one looked in design the same as the one back home. I played a few tunes on it and smiled when I heard the comforting sound of the harmonica.

We had a few run ins with Konohamaru as well. The first time he saw me he almost didn't recognise me. Only after I called out to him did he notice who I was. After explaining my changes to me (excluding the hanyou changes) and introducing my friend and girlfriend to him we played a version of tag called Ninja Tag. In the game you not only needed to tag the opponent but also hold him down for a few moments. We restricted ourselves of most of our strength so Kono had at least a small chance of wriggling free and taking off. All in all, we had fun.

As the first half of the second month was drawing to a close a few things had changed. Biggest was the apartment complex. It was close to finishing and it looked great. It was now a three story building. There were now 8 large bedrooms, all with their own private bathroom, and all of them were soundproofed. These were on the second level. The master bedroom and bathroom were in the same room and took up the entire third level. This was also soundproofed. Level one was the kitchen, a lounge room big enough for 30 people to lounge around in, a dining room able to seat 60, laundry and a small staircase for a basement which the Hokage helped build using a Doton jutsu.

A great discovery was made while the lounge room was being remodelled. At one point a ladder was knocked over and it crashed through the wall. On the other side was a large backyard that was horribly overgrown with weeds. After half an hour and 100 clones the backyard was cleaned up. From there it had new grass on, a spot for a garden and a large hard wood patio big enough for a large party.

As we completed each room we installed speakers in each one. There was enough for two small ones in each minor bedroom, four small ones in the master bedroom, two in the kitchen and dining room and four more for the lounge room. The large speakers and subwoofers were saved for outside on the new patio as well as a small compact subwoofer in the lounge room. Not even the new basement was spared as four speakers were installed into the walls. Music was played every day and played all kinds of music. A few of the many bands that were played in that time was Linkin Park, Jewel, Empire of the Sun, Black Eyed Peas, Breaking Benjamin, Chicane, The Corrs, Kings of Leon, Evanescence, Beethoven, Michael Jackson, Maroon 5 and more.

Trunks now handled the sword that I saw on the mantelpiece at his parent's house. Kyuubi chose hand-to-hand combat for the moment as she could only have as much youki as I could give her, which wasn't much. She wore special leather gloves that allowed her to attack at lightning speeds. She also expressed a strong interest in sword use and already knew how to handle one, as well as own a sword, but the style she used relied heavily on the use of Youki so she couldn't use it until I got better in using the chaotic energy.

One thing that had not changed was the chemistry between the members of Team 7. Sasuke still despised me and lusted after Kyuubi, Sakura was mostly on Sasuke's side and I was indifferent to them both. I tried to offer my help in training to the others but Sasuke just said that I would only slow him down while Sakura said that training would ruin her self-proclaimed great figure. To an outsider, the situation seemed hopeless. And the truth wasn't that far from that observation. However Kakashi taught us a few things. Nothing major but he did teach Tree walking, Water Walking and just before the end of the month he said we would start on Kunai Balancing and learning new jutsu. We also did the standard sparing practice and strength, speed and reaction time training as well as weapons training. Kakashi, on the other hand, became great friends with us.

Trunks, Kyuubi and I trained at the secret room a few times in the month. Each time was set to a week in a day. By the end of four weeks of training, each on a Saturday, I had created a new jutsu. I considered it to be D-rank in power but it was indispensible and was copy proof. The reason no-one could copy it was because it was powered with Ki energy. I called the new jutsu art Kijutsu. I chose to ignore the fact that Kijutsu in Japanese meant art of Magic.

The jutsu was simple. A weapon was needed for this. You flood the weapon, in my case it was my sword, with Ki energy and the weapon became corporeal. The opponents weapons would still impact your own but if it struck the enemy's body it would just pass through, like an illusion. But the weapon would attack the targets stamina and absorb chakra. I actually got the idea from thinking about Kisame's sword and how it absorbs the oppositions chakra. The difference between the two was that my sword would pass through the person. The absorbed chakra would also be stored inside the long Calibur crystal for later use, unless the weapon wasn't able to do this so instead the absorbed chakra would just dissipate into the air. The jutsu was perfect for sparing as you wouldn't hurt your partner but would still be able to go all out. Another use was to tire out an enemy until they could be captured easily. The jutsu was called 'Blade of Stamina'.

When I created this jutsu I created a slew of combos to use in conjunction with it. Most of them had a magic spell as a finisher move and one was used with a spell. Another thing I had worked on was the use of Foxfire. So far I was able to deliver a multitude of fire attacks but couldn't adjust the temperature level. The blue flames were about as hot as regular fire. The FoxFire was also powered with Youki so using it in battle wasn't going to happen for a while.

(Cue song In Your Mind by Yuki Kajiura from .hack/SIGN Original Soundtrack 2)

On the night of the 40th D-rank mission I got a summon from the Hokage. The three of us; Trunks, Dawn (She said that she liked the name so much that she wanted to be called that from then onwards) and I rushed to the Tower, up the stairs and toward the Hokage's office door. We entered and saw the Hokage waiting for us.

"Well the mission that you wished to be notified as soon as it came in, just did. Tazuna is requiring a ninja team to accompany and guard him as he returns to the Wave Country. I was slightly suspicious of this but I kept my mouth shut. I want to ask if you can tell me anything about this mission," he asked.

"I will, on one condition. You _will_ send Team 7 on this mission alone with Dawn and Trunks regardless of the information I am about to disclose to you. Do you accept the terms?" I asked. He nodded.

"You are right to be suspicious as this is not a C-rank but more of an A-rank mission. The people that will be after Tazuna are not bandits, but Chunnin to Jounin nuke-nin. However we will be able to handle them easily enough. We as in me, Dawn, Trunks, and Kakashi. I will be recruiting them over to our side and you will have four new ninja at the least, but I will induct them into my clan and they will be under my protection."

Hiruzen sighed. "I see. Very well, I will trust you on this matter."

"Thank you Hiruzen," I said, bowing. I then paused as I remembered something. "By the way Hiruzen. I'm sure you know that I know much of the future. This also means that I know much about the past. One of those things is about a certain long dark haired ANBU captain who supposedly slaughtered his entire clan and now serves a secret organisation."

Hiruzen's eyes widened considerably. "You know?" he asked.

"Yes. I know about Uchiha Itachi. I just want you to know that I do too." With that I turned around and walked out of the room, Dawn and Trunks following. There was a scrambling as Hiruzen bolted for the door we had just walked through.

"Wait! You're not going to..." he never got to finish as I rested his fears.

"No I won't tell him. I know Itachi asked you not to tell him so I'll respect his wishes," I said before the three of us walked off.

* * *

(Cue song Metalworks by Kumi Tanioka from Final Fantasy XI Original Soundtrack)

"Well you have done the minimum of 40 D-rank missions. So your next mission will be a C-rank," said Hiruzen. Team 7 was assembled in front of the Hokage at the mission requests floor of the Hokage Tower.

"Your mission is to escort a bridge builder from here back to his home in Wave Country. I'll bring in the client now." Hiruzen then directed his voice to the door beside up. "You may enter now Tazuna!"

After a few seconds, an old man with a bottle of something alcoholic in his hand and from the way he was moving, he was probably intoxicated. "What? These brats are gonna escort me? They all look super weak to me," he said in a slightly slurred voice. "Especially that blond haired idiot who looks like he's trying to act cool."

I sighed before looking directly into his eyes and just stared at him. After about 10 seconds he turned pale and began to tremble slightly. "N-never mind, this one is fine." He then broke eye contact with me and visibly shivered.

I smiled, glad that my Ki projection worked. Ki projection was a Ki powered genjutsu I invented. It increased my presence, making the target think that I was a giant even though I hadn't changed physically. It was seen a few times in the DragonBall series.

"Well if that's all, you should go prepare. This mission will most likely last a few weeks so you'll need plenty of supplies," advised Hiruzen. We thanked him before leaving the room. As we were walking down the hallway Sakura turned her head to Kakashi.

"Are we really ready for a C-rank?" she asked.

Kakashi nodded. "I think so. The most we should expect are bandits, that's all." He seemed to believe this but he sent a quick glance in my direction and a very discreet nod to let me know that he knew the real mission rank. It was obvious that he trusted me enough not to refuse this mission but I could tell he wasn't happy about it.

'I'll have to make it up to him,' I thought before taking off in the direction of the Kitsune Manor.

When I arrived I looked at the place. It was almost ready for others to move in. The bedrooms were all but done; only thing that needed to be done was connect the rooms for electricity. Bathrooms, kitchen, laundry, lounge room, dining room and backyard were all done. Plumbing was connected to the city's water supply. There was maybe another day's work before the place was finished.

As a present from the Hokage, he installed special Uzumaki security seals around the complex. The seals were designed to let anyone in that was cleared by the master of the house. That meant that anyone who hadn't asked me to enter the premises, would run into an invisible wall. It involved me touching the person and pushing in some of my chakra which would act as a marker of sorts, this would only last for the day though. The system could be turned completely off and were powered by chakra batteries that needed charging every few months or so.

I entered the front door which was now a large double stained oak door and stepped inside. The entrance hall, even though not as big as standard, was a sight to behold. The hall went through to the backyard. There was a spiralling staircase that connected the three floors. The floor and steps were tiled with white marble and there was a fountain under the staircase where the water flowed down a black marble sculpture of a hybrid vixen with angle wings attached to her back. It was a housewarming gift from Kaiden and Ren. I smiled as I looked around the place. It certainly looked very different from the way it used to.

I took out my iPhone and brought up a screen. The whole house was monitored with sensors so I could tell who was in the house and where. Another present from Ken. I saw that Dawn and Trunks were inside the kitchen. I walked over to the open door and saw that they were ready. They had packed supplies already. Dawn was dressed in completely different clothes from anything before. She wore a red turtleneck shirt underneath a black soldier uniform. A long flowing red cape was attached to her back on the left side, and a red belt below her sizable bust. She also wore two black fingerless gloves with red plates over the knuckles, a long black sleeve over her left arm that began from her bicep, and a black mini-skirt. There was a red storage pack attached to her skirt and left leg, and she wore two knee-high, black leather boots. Trunks was wearing his usual wardrobe consisting of black muscle shirt, black loose pants with an orange belt and blue jacket. He really did look just like Future Trunks from DBZ. It was awesome. He even had his sword strapped to his back with a light blue belt with a red and white buckle, like the buckle on his waist belt.

"Nice going you two," I said as I walked up to Dawn and placed my hand around her back, drawing her close. "You look great! Where did you get the wardrobe idea?" I asked.

"Well before we separated I looked through some of your general memories. In something called Final Fantasy XIII the main character wore something like this. I just modified the colours and size," she replied.

"Lightning eh? Genius I reckon," I said proudly and gave her a quick kiss. "It's not real though. It's just a projection," she said slightly sad.

"Well we can ask Ken about something to help with that," I said. "We ready to go?" I asked Trunks.

"We sure are Josh," he replied, enthusiastic about the trip outside the village. Over the past month and a half he had grown closer to us. He was now Dawn and I's best friend. He considered us the same way. Dawn nodded before she turned into White Requiem. I then removed the primary Calibur crystal and streamed youki into it. A puff of smoke later and Dawn was back with us. We had decided that she would be out and about with us instead of being the sword all the time. I then noticed that Trunks had the handgun that Kaiden gave me strapped to his side. "Just in case," he said. "The gun is Kage henged into a backup knife so no-one will be suspicious as there are no guns on this continent." I nodded. "A good idea. You keep it safe for me. I know what's going to happen on this mission but it's good to have a contingency plan."

I looked around once more before nodding. "Ok! Let's hit the road!" I said. We then headed outside and I locked the door before we left for the gate.

* * *

(AN: Review, review, review people. I need reviews to feed my fan-fiction ego!)


	9. Chapter 9: Travelling To Wave

**Chapter 9: Travelling to Wave**

(Cue song Big Bluff by Tsuneo Imahori from Trigun - the first donuts)

"I see, but how will you convince them?" asked Kakashi.

"They are sick of being constantly on the run from the Bloodline Eradication Hunter-nin and regular Hunter-nin and want to be free of being hunted down," I explained.

"But he tried to kill the Mizukage. What makes you think he won't do the same to our Hokage?" he asked in a worried tone.

"Because he's changed since then. He's not the same person he once was. People do change. You did. If it wasn't for me, you would still be moping about your past and would still be late for everything that wasn't absolutely serious. They also needed money but there aren't many honest jobs a nuke-nin can get without resorting to mercenary work. Besides," I said as I smiled. "I think Hiruzen is a good judge of character."

"Hiruzen?" asked Kakashi.

"You don't even know our Hokage's first name? Well I guess that would be normal. Most people would be too respectful to be on first name speaking terms with him," I said thoughtfully.

"I didn't even know," said Kakashi.

"I bet you didn't even know that Naruto is the main character from the stories told in my world, did you?" I asked, grinning.

"What!" he exclaimed.

"Shhhhhh! Not so loud!" I said before looking discreetly behind me. Sasuke didn't seem too interested in our little conversation and Sakura was busy trying to strike up a conversation with the brooder. Tazuna was walking half way between us and the other Genin but he still couldn't hear anything.

I sighed. "That was close," said Trunks. I nodded. "Damn right," I said. I turned to Kakashi. "There are many things I know about this world and the future it holds. But you already know that," I said to him.

"Yeah but I'm still unsure of that. You can't know everything," reasoned Kakashi.

"Of course not, but I know enough. For example, I know how many official missions you've completed before you became our sensei; a total of 1141. Your favourite foods are salt-broiled saury and miso soup with eggplant, while your least favourites are anything fried or sweet." Here I thought for a moment before adding, "And you've always wanted to have a serious spar with Minato Namikaze."

I looked at him to see his mouth open wide. "What else do you know about me?" he asked.

"Not much more. You hate being photographed without your mask on, one of your missions in the ANBU was to evacuate the Princess of Snow out of the palace as a coupe was taking place, and that, before the attack on Naruto, he had way more chakra than you."

"Is there anything you don't know?" he asked, a little nervous.

"Yeah!" I nodded. "I don't know what you look like underneath the mask, other than what you've told us and having a narrow jaw-line. I also don't know why you quit the ANBU, even though you still have strong connections with them." Kakashi visibly relaxed, evidently thankful that I didn't know everything.

"I know a few more things about you such as you knowing the Rasengan and many Earth, Water and Fire jutsus however Lightning is your affinity element," here he waved his hands franticly in front of him.

"Ok, ok! I get it now! You know lots about everyone!" he said.

Dawn laughed at him. "You looked so spooked right now!" she said. Kakashi then reigned in his emotions.

"Well, what can you tell me about the ninja we will be facing in this mission?" he asked.

"Ok, first we'll be facing off against a duo of Kiri nuke-nin's called the Demon Brothers. Their names are Meizu and Gōzu. They are Chunin rank and are very good at coordination attacks. Their large metal gauntlets, Gōzu wears the gauntlet on his right hand while Meizu wears his on his left, house a retractable shuriken chain running between the two of them, which they can use to bind an enemy and then slice them to pieces. In the event that the shuriken chain is neutralized, they also have a release mechanism, to free them up for individual attacks. They use the sharp, poisoned claws on their gauntlets to shred their foes," I explained.

"They don't sound too tough," said Kakashi.

"That's because they aren't. I propose you hang back to protect Sakura and Tazuna while Sasuke, Trunks, Dawn and I fight and neutralize them. Is this acceptable?" I asked.

"Do you think Sasuke can handle it?" he asked.

I nodded. "Sasuke may be an emo douche muffin and have an ego that's just asking to be popped like a ripe pimple, but he does have good skills. For a Genin anyway," I said. "The two will be hiding in a genjutsu water puddle in the middle of the road. They might be good at fighting but they are a little lacking in the common sense department." Here Dawn giggled slightly.

"Well I appreciate you telling me all this," Kakashi said, smiling softly.

"Of course! You're my friend. And I'm sure Dawn and Trunks feel the same way," I said as they nodded.

Kakashi smiled. "Thanks you guys," he said before he looked like he remembered something.

(Cue song Forbidden Fruit by Naoki Sato from Eureka seveN OST 1 Disc 1)

"By the way... uh... do you know how... uh... popular I was... in your world?" he asked nervously.

I grinned. "Well officially you are the most popular character in the series; Naruto coming next. It was almost a tie between the two of you."

"Really?" he asked before he was grinning too.

I then grinned slyly. "Not only that, but many fans wrote stories with you paired up with several other characters."

"Really! Which was the most favourite?" asked Kakashi almost hungrily. "Was it Kurenai? Or maybe Anko. Or maybe even Yugao? Or maybe," here he began to make a drooling sound. "A harem with all three?"

My grin then became fully evil. "Nope. You were paired with Iruka."

Kakashi's face froze and seemed to stay like that for a few seconds.

My grin faulted slightly. "Uh-oh," I said before turning to Dawn and Trunks. "Do you think I broke him?" I asked. I then turned back to see that his face now adopted one of those wide eyed, no pupil and irises look. Like the time in Shippuden where Lee shouted into his mike, not aware that the volume was turned all the way up, creating massive feedback. I believe it was Episode 18. Yeah, he looked just like that right now.

* * *

(Cue song Daddy's Got the Blues by Masashi Hamauzu from Final Fantasy XIII Original Soundtrack)

I was now playing a slow and steady tune on my new harmonica I got from Ken several days ago. It served to calm Tazuna down from being slightly nervous as he was no doubt expecting foreign ninja to jump us at any moment. Kakashi had since recovered from his mental scare. Most likely he wouldn't face Iruka ever again. I was now thinking that I shouldn't have been so evil to him. But the opportunity was just too good to pass up.

As we passed the slightly obvious puddle just off to the side of the road I continued to play, not giving away that I had noticed. But I looked at Kakashi and he looked back at me, indicating with his eyes that he had noticed. Dawn and Trunks had also noticed as well.

(Cue song Theme of CRISIS CORE "Chaotic Battlefield" by Takeharu Ishimoto from Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Original Soundtrack)

I kept playing up until I felt them rushing us before I flicked the instrument up high into the air and drew White Requiem in one fluid motion. I rushed the first one I saw and ducked under his chain that was launched from his gauntlet. I sliced upwards with a quick motion and deftly sliced through the chain, causing several chain pieces to whip past me and imbed themselves into the trees near my position. As he was recovering from his surprise at my skill, Dawn came down on him from behind and delivered a swift chop to the back of his neck, knocking him out. I held up my hand to catch my harmonica easily.

I looked over to see Sasuke distracting the second one while Trunks snuck up behind him and attacked with a strong punch to his back, not breaking it but paralysing him for several seconds while he echoed Dawn's move to knock him out.

(Cue music silence)

I looked to see Kakashi and Sakura guarding a very shocked bridge builder. "Nice job!" said Kakashi to us as Trunks and I proceeded to tie them up.

"Thanks!" I replied before looking at Trunks and Dawn. "You two were great!" I said. They smiled and nodded. I scratched Dawn behind the ears while making it look like I was patting her head. Wouldn't want those who were watching be given strange ideas when they saw me scratching spots an inch above Dawn's head. She sighed happily and began to purr softly.

"Ok Tazuna," Kakashi said, turning to the old man. "Why are ninja after you instead of normal bandits like the mission stated?" He knew all there was to know thanks to me but he still needed to ask for appearances.

"O...ok...ok, I'll... tell you everything," said Tazuna and he explained the whole situation. After 5 minutes of him explaining, Kakashi looked at Sasuke and Sakura. "It's up to you if you want to continue. I don't mind either way. The presence of Chunin level ninja automatically bumps this mission up to a B rank but the possible presence of Jounin ninja will elevate the status to low A rank." He left it at that.

It was Sasuke who spoke up first. "I don't care but if we go back then that means 'Mission Fail' right? That's not going to happen," he said firmly.

Sakura was looking a little off at the prospect of doing more work that stated before but when Sasuke spoke his mind, she focused and nodded, indicating that she was in.

"Great! I'll leave a clone with these two to wait for ANBU to collect them and we can move on. Is this alright with you?" I asked Kakashi, even though I knew what he was going to say.

"That is acceptable," he replied, smiling with his eyes. He then turned to Tazuna. "Well Tazuna-san, looks like we'll continue to protect you."

Tazuna smiled. "Thank you all. The people of Wave will not forget this."

I then created a clone and ordered it to stay behind while we continued. About half an hour later the information from the just dispersed clone told me that the clone had presented the offer to the demon bros and then set them free with the task of letting Zabuza and Haku know. Naturally they had asked questions like how I knew them. The clone just told them that I was more knowledgeable then they could imagine and left it at that. After about half an hour after the clone had been dispersed I smelt the brothers sneak by, almost undetectable. Only I, Trunks, Dawn and Kakashi knew this but kept it to ourselves.

* * *

Now we were on a boat.

On the sea.

In Wave Country.

And I was playing the song Sakura Kiss for string from Ouran High School Host Club softly on my harmonica.

...Yeah I was that bored.

I was sitting in the front with Dawn and Trunks flanking me just behind me. Then Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi sat in the middle with Tazuna and Mr. Driver guiding us through the water.

(Cue song Ro'Maeve by Naoshi Mizuta from Final Fantasy XI Rise of the Zilart OST)

"This fog's so thick, you can't see anything," said Sakura.

"This is a country dominated by the sea. Sea fogs are a normal occurrence here," I supplied as I took a pause on my instrument. I then sniffed, catching the smell of grease and metal. We were near the bridge.

"The bridge isn't far now," said the driver, confirming my suspicions. "Our destination is just ahead."

Slowly, the massive structure permeated through the fog. Only a shadow, but enough that it's true scale was seen. And it was huge. At the top end were construction equipment such as cranes and building materials, slabs of premade concrete and heavy steel girders.

"Nice," I said softly, earning a small smile from Tazuna. "My pride and joy!" he said proudly.

"It is indeed a well constructed bridge," said Trunks.

We were silent for a few minutes as we continued on. In the anime Tazuna explained the situation with the Wave country but since we already had that conversation we were silent.

"We're coming up on the shore," said the driver as he guided the boat into a tunnel that travelled under one of the smaller islands into the country. The tunnel was lit with red coloured low light lamps. On the other side was remarkably different.

There was no fog, revealing the half submerged vegetation and the houses that lined the shores of the cramped islands. Sea gulls squawked in the distance and a nice sea breeze ruffled our hair.

The driver dumped us on a small jetty and apologised that he needed to leave straight away. He turned on the motor and sped away.

"Ok! Take me to my house! And I mean in one piece!" said Tazuna.

"Right," said Kakashi curtly and we made our way to the one of many paths that twisted their way through the island that we were on, one of the largest.

(Cue music silence)

It wasn't until we really got into the forest of the island when I picked up the scent of sweat and Carbon steel. This meant one thing.

"Zabuza," I said very softly but Dawn, Trunks and Kakashi heard me. Dawn and Trunks because they were foxes and Kakashi because of his ANBU training. We all tensed, unnoticed by the others of our group. We walked for a few minutes before a swishing noise sounded through the air. I whipped out White Requiem and pushed chakra into my arms before bringing it around in a wide swing and smashed the rotating cleaver sword into a nearby tree, protecting the group. Several milliseconds later a man appeared, balancing on the handle of the sword.

Everyone was shocked at my strength, especially Tazuna as he hadn't seen my awesomeness in action much. We then looked up to see the man as he looked over his shoulder slightly to eye our group.

Seeing him reminded me of a Naruto Abridged series I saw one time on YouTube and I grinned inside before I pointed at him and said loudly. "I know you!" He looked at me, waiting to hear the fear in my voice when I said his name.

(Cue song Bridge05 by Yuki Kajiura from .hack/SIGN EXTRA OST)

"You're Mr. Poofy Pyjama Pants!"

...

...

...

...

"WHAT THE FUCK!" yelled Zabuza as I began to laugh loudly with Dawn and Trunks joined in. Kakashi didn't bother to hide his grin. Sasuke, Sakura and Tazuna were the only one's lost.

"SHUT UP! SHUT THE FUCK UP BEFORE I SMASH YOUR BALLS WITH THE BLUNT SIDE OF MY SWORD!"

I quietened down but I continued to grin at him. His eyes narrowed. "Just for that look, you're the first to go!" He then made a few quick handseals and spoke with the final one. "Ninpo: Kirigakure no Jutsu!"

It only took a few seconds for the jutsu to run its course. Soon the entire area was blanked with thick mist.

I turned back to my comrades and others and grinned at them. "I'll be back soon."

"Are you sure?" asked Kakashi. "This is Zabuza. Demon of the Hidden Mist?"

"Demon, smemon. He's no threat to me," I said as I walked ahead a few meters so I wasn't out of sight from the team, but out of the way. I waited.

"Hey! Zabuzaaaaaaa! Are you going to attack or what? I don't want none of this assassin crap! I want a good old fashioned sword fight!" I yelled. He then appeared in front of me.

"Very well. I will show you why I am known as the Demon of the Hidden Mist," he said before bringing his sword around into a ready position. I did the same.

We then engaged in 10 minutes of sword fighting. (AN: I'm not too good at describing fights so just use your imagination.)

By the end we were both panting slightly. "You're good kid. I see now why the twins were so impressed with you and your friends," said Zabuza.

"Yeah. So... want to join up with me?" I asked out of the blue.

Zabuza was silent as he placed his sword onto his back. "Uhhhhhh... can you give me a week to think about it?" he asked.

"Why do you need a week to-ah screw it. Sure. Meet you on the bridge in one week," I agreed.

"You got it!" he said before Shunshining out of the clearing. I then walked back to my friends and other people.

"Honey! I'm home!" I said.

"What took you so long?" asked Dawn.

"Hey! I'm entitled to a little fun," I protested. I then sighed. "Zabuza and I are meeting up in one week on the bridge to decide his and the others fate. So we got the next week off!" I said.

"Nice!" said Kakashi.

"Well we might as well go to Tazuna's and crash there," suggested Trunks.

"What a good idea," said Kakashi and we all moved toward the bridge builders home, leaving Sasuke, Sakura and Tazuna in the dark, yet again. But hey, who cares about them anyways?

* * *

(Cue song Life Is On You by Kenji Fujii; Suble from Devil May Cry: The Animated Series OST)

"Tsunami! I'm home!" called Tazuna as we walked through the door of his house. Said house was situated right on the edge of the small town le lived at. The front door was positioned at the end of a floating walkway that made its way around the town.

"Dad? Is that you?" came a voice and from the kitchen area stepped a woman with long dark blue hair and black eyes. She was quite pretty in a simple way.

"Yeah, it is. And I brought ninja's from Konoha with me," he replied, grinning widely.

She frowned. "I hope you didn't guilt them into taking this mission," she said edgily. Tazuna gulped nervously, as that was his backup plan if things didn't go so well in the anime. But since we accepted straight away there was no need. "No Tsunami, I didn't," he said, slightly nervously.

Dawn, Trunks and I moved to the side of Tazuna and we bowed slightly. "Hello Tsunami. My name is Naruto." I gestured to my friends. "This is Dawn, Trunks and Kakashi-sensei." I then thumbed behind me to the other members of the team. "Those two are Sasuke and Sakura. We're the ninja's from Konoha. I promise you that we won't let anyone hurt your father or anyone here while the bridge is finished."

The woman was slightly surprised that she was looking at kids, well aside from Kakashi and me. "Well thank you, but aside from you and them," she nodded her head at our sensei, Dawn and Trunks, "you seem a little young. I though you would be older."

"An easy assumption, but misinformed," I replied. "Myself and my team have the skills to successfully repel any attack that Gatou will likely send." She seemed to still be a little doubtful but let it go.

The house was reasonable for a country in shambles. It was clearly one of the better ones out there. The house had two levels; living areas on the bottom and sleeping quarters on the top.

By now it was late in the afternoon, the sun well on its way to the horizon. From the smell wafting through the house I guessed Tsunami was in the middle of cooking tea.

"Dinner will be ready in a few minutes," Tsunami said loudly as she saw Tazuna quietly sneaking towards the kitchen. He stopped in his tracks and smiled sheepishly at everyone before walking over to the dinner table. We followed his suit and easily filled up the large table in the dining room.

"So, what do we do now?" Sakura asked me. In the past few months she had grudgingly accepted me as team leader.

"Well, we have a few choices. We can train our butts off this next week but since I'm the one facing Zabuza there's no need for that. I'm thinking we all focus on building the bridge." I then turned to Tazuna. "Do you have all the materials to finish the bridge on site?" I asked.

"Yeah. Why?" he asked.

"In a minute. How many people would you need working on the bridge to finish work in one week from tomorrow?"

"Uhhh... maybe 400 or so?" he replied, failing to see where this was going. Kakashi, Dawn and Trunks were grinning as my idea sunk into their heads.

"Well, I use a technique to create a clone of myself that is completely solid. I can create several hundred without much problem. I already know a bit about construction work from doing extensive renovations on my house. If you let my clones take care of the bulk work and your men takes care of the professional and technical side of the project, would you be able to finish the bridge in a week?" I asked.

Tazuna's eyes were wide open in shock for several moments before he sobered. "Even if you can do that, certain areas of the project will take longer to finish such as drying the concrete. That takes up half the day drying in the sun if not more. There's no way that can happen in a week."

"We employ other techniques that will help dry the concrete faster. We can create flames and fireballs to quickly dry the concrete easily. Right Kakashi?"

The Jōnin nodded. "That's right," he agreed.

"Then, yeah! It just might work!" exclaimed Tazuna, suddenly very excited. He then sobered again. "What if Gatou realises our plan and tries to slick his thugs on us?"

"None of them will be able to get past us. And Dawn here is very adept at casting illusions. She can cast one to make it look like were just keeping an eye out for trouble and make it look like the bridge is being built at normal speed without our help," I said with Dawn nodding throughout me explaining this.

"Great! Won't Gatou be surprised that after a week the bridge will be finished and he will have no idea how it happened!" said Tazuna, jumping out of his chair with a big grin on his face.

"Ok Dad! Calm down and have your tea," said Tsunami as she brought food to the table.

"Right," he said, instantly sitting down.

"Inari! Dinner time!" called Tsunami. There was a brief moment of scrambling upstairs before a scrawny kid with black hair and eyes. He wore a creamy white and blue striped cap that reached down to just above the eyes, faded light yellow shirt and green overalls. In other words, apprentice emo was in the hizzaouuu!

"Hey! It's my grandson! Come give your grand-daddy a hug!" called Tazuna from his side of the table. The kid ran over and gave him a hug before looking blankly at us.

"These are the ninja who are protecting me!" Tazuna introduced.

"Why are they here? They're just going to die?" asked Inari to his grandad.

"What makes you say that?" I asked, pretending I didn't know and planning to set him straight here and now.

"Because Gatou is too strong! He and his thugs will kill you easily and without mercy! So just stay out of this and you won't die!" said Inari forcefully. However he did a double take when I just smiled at him.

"Inari, right?" I asked. He nodded.

"Inari, you've only just met us. How can you think that Gatou will kill us when you've no idea of our abilities?"

"Because anyone who stands up against Gatou will just die!"

I sighed before standing up. "Can I show you something?" I asked. He nodded hesitantly. I then walked outside with him in tow. I slammed White Requiem into the ground next to me and he looked in awe at it.

"Does Gatou wield a sword like this?" I asked. He shook his head. I then outstretched one hand to him and created a basketball sized ball of glowing light blue Ki energy. I then flung it at a tree and watched the ensuing explosion that blew the tree and a large sized chunk of earth high into the air. Inari was shell-shocked. "Can he do that?" I asked. He shook his head.

"Other than me, have you seen anyone do something like that?"

"No..."

"Well now, do you now think that Gatou or any of his mercenaries will kill me now?"

Inari was silent for several moments before he shook his head.

"Well there you have it! Problem solved!" I said cheerfully. I then bent down to his level and patted him on the head. "I don't know what happened in the past with you (Though I actually do) but you need to keep moving forward. And know that there is always someone stronger then who you think is strong."

"Are you the strongest?" he asked.

"God no!" I said, laughing. "I'm not the strongest person in the world and I doubt I ever will be. But do you want to know what I will be?"

"What?"

"I will be strong enough to protect anyone who is dear to me. As long as I can do that, I'm happy." I then noticed the spark of recognition in his eyes. "I sense someone has told you this already."

"Yeah," said Inari who began to tear up. "But he died; killed by Gatou."

"I see. But did he die grovelling on the ground in front of Gatou?" Here Inari raised his tear stricken face to look at mine as I looked to the stars. "Or did he die with his head held proud? Eventually we all have to look inside ourselves and ask 'Am I going to just look after myself? or am I going to fight to protect others?' I've made that choice and I'm sure that the person you're thinking of did as well." I then looked at Inari. "So Inari. Do you have hope in your heart? Or does past experiences weigh you down?"

Inari was silent again while he took all this in. He then looked at me and smiled. "Yes, I do have hope!" he said.

"Good! Now let's get something to eat. I'm starving!" I said and we both walked back into the house.


	10. Chapter 10: Clash on the Bridge!

AN: The fight between Zabuza with Myself and Shiva with Haku were written by Aragorn Potter, then edited by me.

* * *

**Chapter 10: Clash on the Bridge!**

(Cue song Car24 by Yoko Kanno from Cowboy Bebop Original Soundtrack 1)

The next week was about as normal as could be. There was no normal training to worry about. However what did happen was training while we were building the bridge. Things like, for Sakura, streaming chakra into her arms and back to pick up very heavy steel girders. Sasuke was put to work using his Fireball jutsu. Kakashi and I used Kage Bunshin for the bulk of the work. Dawn regulated the genjutsu that was thrown around the bridge constantly, with back up foxes taking care of it at night. And Trunks helped out with calculations. He was quite smart when it came to that type of stuff. More so than Sakura time skip version and Shikamaru put together. He was an _ultra_ genius.

At night I told some jokes to keep morale up with the bridge builder and his family. Inari had done a complete 180. No longer was he depressed and angst. Now he laughed like a child his age should be doing every day. Tsunami smiled almost constantly now. It was great.

One day I decided to take a break and survey the land for the rest of the day. I left Trunks in charge and looked around Wave country for a while. It wasn't until late in the afternoon that I discovered something interesting.

It was a beach. A beautiful, pearly white sand covered, sapphire blue water, beach. Like the type you see in 'Welcome to Paradise' pictures, or the type you would only see with a five star beach resort slapped on the side. It was interesting because the beach was distinctly tropical, but Wave was most certainly _not_ a tropical country. Curious I took out my phone and looked up the spot on the inbuilt map. The sensors told me that there was a weather anomaly hanging over the area. It was small, but created a tropical climate all year round. Looking up I saw the sun beginning to set over the water. It was truly a peaceful place. I was then struck with an idea.

"Yeah! That could work," I said to myself as I thought over the idea that was growing inside my head. The idea was simple. At least it was in my head. Build a beach house here on this beach like I had seen in a few pictures in my home world. A big house on the beach.

"That... would be... awesome!" I said to myself while nodding. I could just imagine the parties I would have here. With that in mind I pressed an option on my iPhone 4 that allowed me to place a GPS beacon on the map and bounded back to meet up with my pals and super hot girlfriend.

We completed the bridge the night before we were going to meet Zabuza and co on the bridge. That night was one of, if not _the_most memorable nights Inari and his family had. Everyone was happy. Even Sasuke cracked a small smile after a particularly funny joke I told.

(Cue song A Little Help from a Friend by Bruce Faulconer from Dragonball Z: Trunks Compendium 1)

And then the day came when I would learn Zabuza's decision. We walked down to the bridge and saw Zabuza, Haku without his mask on, Meizu and Gozu, waiting for us. Sakura was with us, but Sasuke had stayed behind. The night before he had accidently downed a whole glass of whatever Tazuna was drinking. When he woke in the morning, he had complained of a very large headache. In turn Kakashi had ordered him to stay behind and if he felt better, to watch the house just in case.

"Hey ya!" I called to Zabuza. "You come to a decision yet?"

"Yeah! Meizu and Gozu have said they'll join you. My partner Haku and I, however, wish to battle with you before we agree. You win, we join you. But if we win then you join us. How does that sound?" he asked.

"Sounds good to me," I replied. "However I have a suggestion. Since Haku is a Hyòton user I want to match her up with another Hyòton user. Is that alright?"

"Sure, but how did you know that Haku is a Hyòton user?" asked Zabuza.

"I know many things. Didn't the Demon Bros tell you that?" I replied.

"Told you so," said Gozu to Zabuza.

"Yeah, yeah," he replied.

(Cue song Snow's Theme by Masashi Hamauzu from Final Fantasy XIII Original Soundtrack)

"Ok, I'm going to summon the Hyòton user now!" I warned before I picked out one of the red summoning materia from my pocket and streamed chakra into it. I instantly knew what to do as the materia glowed brightly. I tossed the materia into the air, jumped after it, grasped White Requiem and sliced the materia in half. Instantly a wide, complicated, ice blue coloured seal burst out of the crystal. From there the seal split into five sections. These then shifted into five huge ice crystals. I landed on the bridge with the ice crystals speared into the bridge behind me, looking like a flower seen on its side.

Then a glowing, transparent female form with large tentacle like appendages flowing from her head drifted down from the heavens and seemed to meld into the ice. She then changed into a blue skinned woman with 14 very thick bundles of blue hair bounded with gold material in a couple of places per bundle. In some cases there was a gold ring attached to the end of some of these hair bundles. In addition there was a long, thin plat that extended almost all the way down to her feet. The end had a gold ring with the bottom half fitted with pale blue feathers. She was clad in a very skimpy outfit that had all the males except for me and Trunks, and some of the girls blushing at the sight of her generous curves. One breast was covered with clothing whereas the other was covered with a sheet of ice. Attached to the right side of her hip was a bright indigo coloured piece of clothing looking like half a skirt. I instantly recognised her as the Final Fantasy X form of Shiva.

"Ladies and Gentleman, I present the Ice Goddess, Shiva!" I called out and she bowed slightly. She turned to me and smiled. **"What is the reason you have summoned me for?"** she asked in a light, melodious voice.

"How would you like to fight with a Hyòton user?" I asked. Her exotic blue/purple eyes brightened and her smile widened. **"That would be wonderful,"** she said before looking towards Haku who was both blushing and nervous. **"I assume that's him?"** she asked.

"That's him. His name's Haku. Have fun," I said as she walked over to Haku.

**"Oh I will,"** she replied without looking back.

As Shiva and Haku faced down, I turned to Zabuza. "You ready?" I called to him. "Completely!" he replied, grinning. (Cue song Supermoves by Overseer)

After a minute or so of staring at each other Zabuza and I charged at one another at top Shinobi speed, despite the fact that we both wielded Zweihander swords.

As we charged at one another Zabuza jumped into the air and brought his Kubikiri Houcho above his head and then did a vertical downward slash as he came down on top of me.

I reacted though by rolling sideways to avoid the attack, where Zabuza 's sword hit the ground and cause a large dent of the bridges path.

A soon as Zabuza's attack missed I quickly spun around and extended my sword out to slash at Zabuza's unprotected side but he back flipped to avoid the sword strike.

As soon as he landed back on the ground he charged head on at me with another powerful sword slash, which I quickly blocked with my White Requiem, upon which a power struggle emanated between us, where we struggled for dominance and tried to overpower each other.

"You're doing pretty good," I grunted as I held my ground.

"So are you," replied Zabuza.

After a minute or so the power lock between us finally ended with me pushing Zabuza back, where Zabuza temporarily lost his balance, leaving a opening for me, which I took and slashed at Zabuza's unprotected chest. But as soon as he did Zabuza's then reverted into water revealing him to be a Water clone.

"When did he...?" I said out loud but I had no time to wonder for as soon as the water clone was destroyed Zabuza the appeared right behind me. Thanks to the enhanced hearing that my fox ears had I detected him in time and rolled forward to avoid Zabuza's sword slash and from my head being severed off. 'He's not pulling any shots. I guess I better ante up my game too,' I thought.

After avoiding the sword slash I spun around, to block another attack from Zabuza, but even after blocking his attack, I remained on the defensive as Zabuza let lose a fury of attacks at me, where all I could do was block them with White Requiem.

For the next few minutes it continued like this until, when I blocked a powerful downward strike from Zabuza, I pushed him back in a impressive feat of strength, sending him flying through the air. This was the perfect time to use my new attack. Focusing a massive amount of Ki into my sword I called out, "Ikkyuu Nyu..." I then slammed the sword down onto the ground. **"KON!"** A large beam of blue Ki energy raced across the bridge, heading straight for Zabuza. It looked a lot like a mix between the Kamehameha Wave and Cloud's Blade Beam.

Seeing the blade beam flying towards him quickly, Zabuza immediately brought his sword up in front of him to block the beam blade, which it did although the blast caused him to hit the ground hard and skid on it a bit. As Zabuza tried to pick himself up I powered up my Fire Materia and then released the energy at Zabuza creating several large football sizes fire balls speeding towards Zabuza.

When the Fire spells hit Zabuza there was a powerful explosion, but just as I though he was finished I saw movement in the smoke of the explosion. "Not down yet, huh?" I said to myself.

Zabuza appeared right out of the smoke and was relatively unharmed as he had somehow avoided the attack at the last minute and used the smoke of the explosion as a cover screen to launch a counter attack.

Upon appearing out of the smoke Zabuza then rushed at me with incredible speed, where he prepared his sword to do a horizontal slash at me. I was still caught off guard at Zabuza's quick recovery.

But I shook off my surprise and jumped up high into the air, flipping backwards to avoid the powerful slash. Upon landing back on the ground and not wanting to give Zabuza another chance to attack me, I pushed myself forward towards Zabuza and raised my sword up for a powerful strike at the former Mist-nin. Who upon seeing me coming at him raised his sword up and blocked the strike and held his ground. He pushed me back a bit and tried to slash at me but missed as I jumped backwards a bit to avoid it.

For several minutes the sword battle continued like this, as we fought with incredible swordsmanship and skill, showing that we were both true masters of the blade.

]-Third POV with Haku and Shiva-[

Haku and Shiva stared at one another for several minutes waiting for the other to make the first move.

Soon enough Haku decide to make the first move where he cried out **"Sensatsu Suishō (Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death)"** where a thousand long water needles appeared above Haku and flew directly at Shiva.

Seeing this Shiva quickly jumped up into the air to avoid the attack, where upon landing, Haku used his high speed and appeared right under Shiva and strike at her stomach with his Senbon needles. However Shiva had other plans as she disappeared before Haku could hit her, reappearing in mid air above Haku with a ball of swirling white, ice blue and purple energy between her two hands. **"Diamond Dust"** she cried out, launching her signature move.

An icy energy blast flew down at Haku, who just managed to avoid being hit by the attack by flipping backwards. When the attack hit the ground a large pillar of ice appeared then exploded into thousands shards of ice and flew through the air all around, including the still midair Haku. But by twisting his body in the air he was able avoid being hit by them, although he did receive several cuts of his arms and legs, along with cutting up his outfit as he avoided the shards of ice.

But as soon and he landed back on the ground, Shiva fell from the air and delivered a powerful axe kick down on Haku's head, but as soon as she made contact, "Haku" exploded into water revealing that he was a water clone.

As soon as Shiva realised this she felt an attack coming from behind where when she turned she saw about a dozen or so senbon needles flying at her at great speed from behind her.

Upon seeing this Shiva quickly spun around at high speed to narrowly dodge the senbon needles, after which she then turned fully around to face Haku.

**"Mmm, not bad. You're reaction time and evasion is good, however this fight has only just begun,"** Shiva said before winking at Haku in a sensual way. Poor Haku blushed at this action before he focused on the task at hand. He admitted that, while it was hard fighting a scantily clad Ice Goddess and that her Ice affinity was off the charts, he still believed that he could turn this fight in his favour.

]-First POV - Zabuza and Myself-[

As the battled continued, Zabuza suddenly disappeared and the reappeared right behind me and slashed once again at him from behind, but I grinned and ducked down to avoid being slashed from behind, where I then spun around and kicked Zabuza legs from behind causing him to fall backwards. But as he hit the ground he turned into water revealing that Zabuza had used a water replacement.

"Fuck!" I cursed as I got back on my feet. I looked up to see Zabuza several feet away from me with his sword on his back and was flipping through several hand seals. "Oh boy," I sighed just as Zabuza finished the jutsu he was doing and cried out "Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique)". A massive water dragon erupted out from the ocean and right at me. I quickly focused Ki into White Requiem and yelled out "Ikkyuu Nyu KON!". I swung my sword in a wide arc while releasing the energy. This created a blue slicing shockwave that sped toward the dragon which blasted it back into formless water on contact.

Unfortunately though the Water Dragon was just a distraction, where as soon as I destroyed the Water Dragon Zabuza appeared on his knees right below me with Kubikiri Houcho ready to cut me from the lower half of his body. But, again thanks to my advanced hearing, I was able to bring White Requiem around to block Zabuza's, after which I then jumped away a bit to gain bit of distance from Zabuza.

Once I had gained some distance from Zabuza I charged up the Thunder Materia and fired off a Thunder spell, where a bolt of lightning appeared out from the sky above Zabuza and struck him. Unfortunately though, Zabuza was able to replace himself once again with a water clone at the last second to avoid being hit by the bolt of lightning.

When Zabuza reappeared a few feet away from when the lightning hit, I then charged at him with White Requiem, where upon seeing me Zabuza brought his sword up, where he then slashed horizontally at me when I was close enough. But just as Zabuza did so, I jumped up slightly to avoid the slash, where I then battered away his own sword and tried to cut Zabuza's head off.

But upon seeing my attack, Zabuza quickly bended himself backwards to avoid the sword slash, missing it by a hairs breath. After which he then flipped himself backwards into the air, while at the same time kicking me underneath the chin making me take a few steps backwards to regain my footing. Once I did I then saw Zabuza land back on the ground on his feet in front of me and ready to continue.

]-Third POV - Back with Haku and Shiva-[

The two ice users charged at one another to fight in hand to hand combat for several minutes. During the fight Shiva tried to do a leg sweep and cause Haku to fall backwards. Haku saw what she was about to do and jumped up into the air and then did a spin kick to the side of Shiva head but Shiva saw this coming and was able to guard against the attack by blocking it with her arm, where she then pushed Haku back several feet away.

After which Shiva then disappeared and reappeared right behind Haku a delivered a powerful elbow to Haku's back although when she did Haku turned into water, revealing he had replaced himself with a water clone again.

**"Tch!"** muttered Shiva as she looked around for Haku, who she quickly found several feet behind her doing a few hand-seal and then crying out "**Makyō Hyōshō** (Demonic Ice Crystal Mirrors)!" After which a dome of twenty-one mirrors made out of ice to trap Shiva. Upon which Haku entered the mirror, where and image of him appeared in all the ice mirrors.

Shiva whistled appreciatively. **"My my Haku-chan, very impressive for a ningen."**

"Why thank you, but this is where it ends," replied the male Ice user before launching a bombardment of ice senbon from all sides.

Seeing this Shiva the created a sphere of ice around herself so to protect her from Haku's senbon needles, after which she the destroyed her shield and then created twenty-one ice spikes around her and sent them all at Haku's ice mirrors and destroyed them.

As the shards of Haku's Ice mirrors flew through the air Haku launched a counter attack by coming out of one of the pieces and tried to stab Shiva with his senbon needles. Shiva was able to catch Haku's arm before he could stab her and stopped Haku in his tracks. After which Haku kicked Shiva in the side and forced Shiva to let her go, where the two of them then engaged in a fierce Taijutsu battle one again for several minutes.

As the battled continued Shiva was able to kick Haku away from her after which she then cried out, **"Heavenly Strike!"** where a giant spike of ice formed above Haku and then fell down at him a great speed. Haku was able to narrowly avoided being hit by the powerful attack, but was sent flying a bit and crashing to the ground with several more small cuts and injuries.

As Haku picked himself up, Shiva cried out **"Blizzard"** where a cocoon shaped ice similar to the Heavenly strike, where it then came do upon him, lucky though Haku was able to replace himself with a water clone, where when the attack hit the water clone the ice cocoon cracked open and the cold air inside the cocoon flash-froze the water, where it then shattered a few seconds later.

After the attack ended Haku, (who was panting slightly) appeared in front of Shiva, where he then prepared to continue his battle.

**"I'm sorry dear. You've handled yourself well, far better than I expected. But here is where this little fight ends,"** said Shiva before she began to glow with ice blue energy.

]-First POV - Back with Zabuza and Myself-[

"We're still equal," I said.

"You're right. We are," he replied. He then hoisted his blade up again. "What say we finish this in one move?"

"Sounds good to me," I said, activating the Time materia in Haste mode as well as streaming a large amount of Ki energy into my sword.

"On three?" I asked. Zabuza nodded.

"1,"

"2,"

"3!"

We rushed each other, but for me, Zabuza was moving quite slowly. I deliberately clashed my sword against his own, intending on overpowering him. What I didn't expect was my sword to slice Zabuza's in half completely. I watched in slow motion as the top half of the sword spun away in a high ark before returning to the bridge. It stabbed into the ground, light glimmering off it.

(Cue music silence)

"Opps," I said sheepishly. "I never meant to do that."

Zabuza sighed. "No, it's ok."

"Really?" I asked, thinking that he would be pissed.

"Yeah. I guess it's official. I'm joining you and becoming part of your clan," he said.

"Me too!" called a voice from a little ways over from us. I turned to see Haku completely immobilised in several hundred spikes of ice. He had a sheepish smile on his face and a legit anime sweatdrop on the side of his head. Even though this place was real, there were still anime type effects here. Which I thought was awesome. He wasn't hurt, but he was stuck. Beside him, Shiva grinned happily. **"He put up a good fight, for sure. But no-one beats the Queen of Ice herself."**

"Glad to hear it Shiva. Now do you think you could let him go?" I asked.

Shiva clicked her fingers and the ice shattered away from Haku without slicing him to pieces.

"Thanks. I'll call you when I need you soon," I said.

**"Ok. See you then,"** she said with a wink in Haku's direction before she jumped into the air and curled up into a ball. A sphere of ice formed around her and then shrunk until it was the same size as the materia ball. The ball then dropped into my hands and I saw that it was back to its original red crystal. I slipped the materia back into my sword before turning to my new friends.

(Cue song Stay by Fat Jon from Samurai Champloo OST - Departure)

"I think she likes you," I grinned at Haku, who's face turned into a stop light. "Great! So you're now part of the Kitsune Clan. By the way, I'm creating a group of swordsman, like the Seven Swordsman of the Mist. Zabuza, you're now part of that group," I said.

"Great! Who else is in it?" he asked.

I pointed to my best friend and girlfriend. "Trunks and Dawn are part of it already, along with myself, of course. I'll even get you a new sword when we get back to Konoha," I promised.

"Nice battling," said Dawn as she and Trunks walked up to us. She gave me a quick kiss on the lips.

"Why thank you Dawn," I replied. "

Wait, she's your girlfriend?" asked Zabuza in shock. I nodded. "Man, you are one lucky bastard!" he said, clapping me on the back.

"Well there are plenty of hot single woman in Konoha for you to get. None are as gorgeous as Dawn but there are a few gems," I said slyly.

I then, along with Dawn and Trunks, placed our hands on Zabuza and Haku's shoulders. They were confused for a moment before they jumped in shock.

"What the...? Who are you?" they asked at the same time.

"I guess that proper introductions are in order. My name is Josh Ryu Kitsune. I am a Kitsune Hanyo, Commander of the Kitsune Army, Lord of all Kitsunes and the current Defender of Fire country. My alias is Uzumaki Naruto so I would appreciated it if you call me that when we're out in public," I said before pointing at Trunks. "This is Trunks, son of Kaiden who is 2nd in command of the Kitsune Army. He's here to gain battle and life experience." And last I pointed at Dawn. "This is Dawn, also known as Kyuubi no Kitsune. She was the Commander of the Kitsune Army and Defender of Fire Country but after being sealed, those titles were revoked from her. She passed her powers to me after her spirit was freed thanks to a special jutsu."

"...Wow!" both Zabuza and Haku said.

"Yep! Some big names here," said Kakashi as he came to stand beside us. "I guess you're part of Josh's clan now."

"Looks like it," said Haku.

(Cue music silence)

"Heh! It seems that the Demon of the Hidden Mist couldn't finish them off after all," came a very annoying voice from the other side of the bridge. We all turned to see Gatou and his flunky army.

"Well it's about time you got your fat ass here. I was wondering where you were," I said.

"They're weakened from their battle! Get 'em!" ordered Gatou and his army began to inch forward.

(Cue song Powerful Man from the Darkness by Kenji Yamamoto from Dragon Ball Z - Budokai 3 Original Soundtrack)

"Hey Zabuza," I said as I slammed my sword into the bridge and touched the black watch thing on my wrist. A black hilt materialised out of thin air.

"Yeah?" he replied, looking in fascination at what was happening in my hands at the moment. I gripped the hilt with my hand and pointed it at Gatou. I streamed chakra into the handle and watched the blade smoothly construct itself until the blade was fully extended.

"Now you're going to see something really cool," I answered before the special ability of the sword activated and I completely disappeared.

*Third POV*

The army exclaimed as Josh disappeared from view. "Where did he go?" one said.

"Where is he?" said another before he slumped to the ground unconscious.

"What the?" said a mercenary before he was seemingly punched in the gut hard by some invisible force that had the guy coughing hard before collapsing.

"Look out!" cried out one before his face was pounded into the bridge hard.

The outcries continued and every time someone yelled out in fright, he was knocked out, which only sent the rest into more fear.

"What are you doing! He's only one man! Kill him!" yelled Gatou. But it was no use. They were all being punched into unconscious land by an invisible force. And so it continued until there was only Gatou left. Strangely, he wasn't terrified on the sight of all the still bodies everywhere.

*First POV*

I appeared back with my friends. Zabuza, Haku, Meizu and Gozu were absolutely awed at what I did.

"That was some nice work you did there," said Zabuza in a respectful voice. "I couldn't even sense you, never mind see you."

"That was the point," I replied as I deactivated the thin sword in my hands. I looked at the damage I had created and nodded in satisfaction. I didn't kill them because some of the people I just attacked could have had families and simply joined Gatou's army to feed the their family. I wasn't going to become a monster that separated families and friends simply because they were on the wrong side for the right reasons. I picked up White Requiem and attached it to my back. "Gatou! What now?" I yelled to him. What I didn't expect was for him to begin laughing.

"Ha ha ha ha ha! I guess that if you want something done, do it yourself!" he growled.

(Cue song Evil Power by Kenji Yamamoto from Dragon Ball Z - Budokai 3 Original Soundtrack)

"I think you're outmatched and out..." the words died on my lips as I saw the horrible transformation that was taking place in front of my eyes. Gatou bloated into something that was several times bigger than his previous height. His skin turned into an indigo-black coloured, jelly like substance. His eyes turned red and beady like. His mouth stretched and gaped open, with a indigo coloured mist flowing out of it. With the transformation complete, Gatou now looked like a 7 meter tall black-indigo coloured jelly mould with red eyes.

"Is that what I think it is?" I asked to no one in particular as I raised my iPhone to the creature and scanned it. The info appeared on the screen along with a 3D icon of the monster.

_Name: Dark Flan_

_Class: C rank demon_

_Description: __The Dark Flan has a host of attacks at its disposal. It casts Black Magic such as Demi, Bio, Drain, Osmose, and Flare. It can also heal itself using White Wind. And unlike the other flan demons encountered, it does not have an elemental weakness. The strategy to defeat it is to summon a Bahamut-class dragon and use non-elemental attacks. The alternate strategy is to Silence the Dark Flan (its main weakness) and then pound away with Flare and physical attacks after using the Armor Break technique._

"Dawn, why does Gatou look like a Dark Flan from Final Fantasy X?" I asked. She looked a little sheepish before replying. "I forgot to mention but this world is infested with demons, good and bad. Some take the shape of humans to amass wealth and several other reasons. They usually stay undercover but every now and then one will directly attack in its true form. The bad demons also go after power because every time a demon kills another, their power transfers to the winner. This doesn't include the Defenders but if a demon who wasn't a Defender defeats one, they would become equal in power to it. And so every now and then one will come along to try and take on a Defender to claim their power for themselves. Sorry I didn't tell you sooner." Dawn explained.

I sighed. "No, it's alright. I know now, so let's split this Flan open!"

"Hey Josh! Do you know what this thing is?" asked Kakashi, looking warily at the monster.

"It's a demon known as a Dark Flan. Any elemental jutsu used against it will only take half damage. It's almost completely immune to physical attacks. It's also quite strong in its abilities. Let me handle this one!" I replied back before extracting the Bahamut materia from my sword.

(Cue song Screaming God by Yasuharu Takanashi \ Yaiba from NARUTO Shippuuden Original Soundtrack II)

I flooded the materia with chakra and the materia changed into a ball of white-blue energy. I flung the ball into the sky and as it ascended, a large and wide circle of glyphs and seals pulsed out of the ball before fading. The sky became heavily overcast and clouded. Then a wide and complicated seal spread out across the clouds, only to be shattered seconds later by a dragon flying straight at me. The dragon pulled up just in time and landed on the bridge in front of me. His appearance was exactly the same as the Bahamut dragon from Final Fantasy X. The dragon turned to me. **"My name is Slipstream. How may I serve you?"**

"Use Impulse on the Dark Flan!" I ordered. Slipstream nodded before facing the Flan head on. The dragon concentrated and four balls of black, blue, purple and white swirling energy appeared in front of him. He then launched the balls and they collided with the Dark Flan. A great, gurgling roar erupted from the demon. Then the monster seemed to gesture vaguely at Slipstream. A spiral of fire surrounded Slipstream on the ground. All the fire merged into one spot right underneath Slipstream and exploded upwards violently. A FFX Flare spell. Slipstream flinched but stood his ground.

"Another Impulse!" I called and Slipstream prepared another attack. As he was doing so I turned to my friends. They were staring in awe at the battle unfolding before their eyes. "I'm going to need a few minutes to gather enough youki to finish this guy off. Can you pummel it with jutsu while I get ready?" I asked. They all turned to me. "Sure," said Zabuza with Haku and Kakashi nodding. "You got it!" said Trunks, sheathing his sword.

Dawn sighed. "Sorry but I'll won't be any use to you guys until I have access to more youki." She looked bummed out. I placed my hand under her chin and raised her head up to look at mine. I kissed her softly. "It's ok. It won't be much longer before I gain another tail or two. Then you can join in. But for now, you can support the team." As I said this I handed her my Restore and Heal materia. She smiled and nodded. "Ok!"

"Alright gentleman! You know what to do!" I said in a commanding voice. They nodded before they ran towards the battle. I then began to focus on my acquired youki and started to amass it into my sword.

*Third POV* [Cue song Bodies (Vrenna XXX Mix) by Drowning Pool from XXX Soundtrack]

Kakashi flipped through a few seals before settling into a Tori seal. "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" he called out before unleashing an enormous ball of fire that roared towards the Dark Flan. Trunks improved on it by going through his own set of seals. "Futon: Diatoppa!" he yelled and shot his jutsu into Kakashi's own. The fireball flickered, almost snuffing out completely before expanding and changing colour to blue. It slammed hard into the Flan. The monster was pushed back several meters, the jelly like flesh smoking.

The Flan roared and gestured at Kakashi. A black puddle formed underneath him and green slime bubbled up from the darkness and splashed onto Kakashi. The puddle disappeared and Kakashi collapsed on the ground, a purple and green mist wafting off his body.

"What in the hell happened?" asked Kakashi weakly to no-one in particular. Then Dawn rushed up to Kakashi, her hand covered in a soothing blue energy, and held it near the area where the poison was concentrated at. Blue and purple seeped out of the poisoned spot while the wound glowed white. After a few moments the energy disappeared and Kakashi stood up, healed of the poison from the Bio spell he was hit with.

"Thanks!" said Kakashi as Slipstream let loose another Impulse attack. Zabuza and Haku were also hammering away at the great blob. "Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!" roared Zabuza after his 44 hand seal chain. A large water dragon exploded out of the sea and crashed into the Flan. The water cascaded into the air from the impact and Haku stepped in. "Sensatsu Suishō!" she called out and all the left over water from the Water Dragon shaped into a thousand needles which struck into the Flan. By now the Dark Flan was looking quite weary and could not take much more of this. Out of desperation it gestured to all four fighters on the field and cast Demi. A point of light appeared above Kakashi, Trunks, Haku and Zabuza. Then waves of black, blue and purple energy rushed towards the point of light and then exploded out, rushing over the four of them. They all then collapsed to the ground, all feeling as if a large chunk of energy had left them as they panted for breath. All of a sudden a power spike alerted everyone to where Josh was at.

There he stood, his clothes whipping around him. His tail and ears were out for the world to see as he cocked his right fist into position. Waves of golden youki energy was burning around his form but was mostly concentrated around his sword. In fact the blade looked like a golden jet of fire that burst out of the hilt. He then charged at the Flan and with an almighty cry, swung the sword two-handed at the Flan. The golden energy rushed around and enveloped the Dark Flan and the monster was blown off the bridge and high into the air. After about five seconds of flight the Flan detonated in the sky, showering the area with warm golden sparks.

*First POV* (Song finish)

I collapsed to the ground, heaving with extortion. I had put most of what I could control of my youki into that strike so naturally I was a little tired. As I caught my breath I watched Dawn use Cure on everyone that was struck with the Demi spell. If Final Fantasy monsters masquerading as demons were around in this world, then things could get pretty wild in the future. 'I hope none of the Superbosses come looking for me before I gain control of the ninth tail otherwise I'll be so screwed,' I thought depressingly.

"You all right there?" asked Zabuza as my five friends gathered around be. Dawn held out her hand to me and I gladly let her pull me up to my feet.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. That attack took a lot out of me," I explained. I looked at the bridge which was still swamped with bodies. "Zabuza, Kakashi, do you think you could tie them up? Some of these people will probably have families and the only reason they signed up with Gatou was to put food on their tables," I asked. "Sure," Kakashi said. Zabuza just looked at me curiously. I saw this and explained.

"I'm not going to become a monster and destroy families. That's not who I am. I know that this is a naive decision, and that some of them don't deserve a second chance. But those that have simply made a mistake, or some who didn't have any other choice do deserve a second chance. "You follow?"

Zabuza nodded. "Never thought I would meet a compassionate ninja. But what you say is true. We'll let the people of this country see who deserves their second chance."

"Thank you," I said to him before addressing everyone. "Ok. Dawn and Haku. Can you go back to Tazuna's house with Sakura and tell them that Gatou and his goons have been eliminated. Trunks, Kakashi, Zabuza, Meizu, Gozu and I have some business to attend to. Is that alright?" I asked. Dawn nodded and kissed my cheek. "Sure thing. We'll be waiting back at the house," she said before grabbing Haku's hand and dragging him off the bridge.

"Ok, Zabuza. Think you can direct us to Gatou's hideout?" I asked.

"Sure thing," he agreed.

(Cue song Nagi Heigen from Final Fantasy X-2 OST - Disc 1)

For the next few hours we searched the complex that Zabuza showed us. We collected up all the Ryo that the demon had gathered up from the Wave country. All in all it amounted to roughly several hundred million. There was also a special treasure room that Gatou had. Inside were several very precious items. Among them was the Wolf, Weasel, Racoon and Falcon Summoning Contracts. Using the Summoning Gun that Trunks brought along I summoned four high-rank foxes and entrusted them with the new Summoning Contracts and to also let the Wolf, Weasel, Racoon and Falcon clans know that their contracts were in safe hands. I also memorized their names for the time I would summon them to pass on the contracts. The 6 tailed red fox that held onto the Wolf contract was called Renji. The 6 tailed blonde vixen who was entrusted with the Weasel contract was called Helena. The 6 tailed black vixen that had the Racoon contract was called Litchi and the holder of the Falcon contract was a 6 tailed orange fox called Ichigo.

"By the way, I need you to do something for me," I asked Helena.

"What is it Commander?" she asked. She even had a French accent from her bio in the Dead or Alive games.

"I need you to get in contact with a group of the most stealthiest foxes in the army. I have a mission for them. Tell them to report to me ASAP."

Helena nodded. "The group you're asking for is Zulu Squad. I'll let them know as soon as I get back," she promised before the four disappeared with the acquired scrolls.

"What was that all about?" asked Kakashi as we trooped back to Tazuna's place. There wasn't enough people to carry all the bags and suitcases of Ryo so Kakashi and I used Kage Bunshin to create the necessary amount of manpower.

(Cue song INTELLIGENT BOYS by Toru Hasebe from Dynasty Warriors 5 OST)

"I need to find three people who will be essential on the good side in the future," I replied. "I assume you know about Orochimaru being the Otokage of the New Sound Village?" He nodded "They're all inside Orochimaru's territory at the moment but by no means are they loyal to him. They're loyal to him out of fear, not respect. I'm gonna recruit them over to my side."

"I see. Who are they?" asked Kakashi.

"Well one Zabuza should be familiar with. His name is Suigetsu Hozuki."

"Ah, him!" replied Zabuza. "He's a good kid. Suigetsu was born in my hometown of Kirigakure. He, together with his brother, Mangetsu, dreamt to inherit the title of Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. Last I heard about him was that his brother died and him being captured by that snake."

"I'm hoping Suigetsu will become part of the swordsman group I'm creating. The second is a girl called Karin. She's a strange one but her sensory abilities are extremely well developed. Her main ability, the Mind's Eye of the Kagura, allows Karin to find, sense and track individuals through their chakra over vast ranges that exceed ten kilometres. She can also use this to determine if a person is lying or if they are under a genjutsu from the fluctuations in their chakra," I explained.

"Wow! Sounds like quite a girl!" said Kakashi. "Impressive to be sure."

I nodded. "The third is a boy called Jugo. This guy is about as bipolar as you can get. He's usually quiet and unassuming but when he gets angry, those around him stand little chance of surviving. One time, he became so angry that he devoured an entire village. He curses his existence because of his dark side and lives mostly inside caves, at least until Orochimaru came into the picture. Jugo has unique enzymes in his blood that enable him to change his body into many forms. Orochimaru was able to extract these enzymes and use them to produce similar but more controlled effects in other people. This led to the creation of the cursed seal." At that moment Kakashi hissed angrily.

"I always wondered how that damn seal was created," he growled out.

"Yes, well, if there's any chance of curing someone with a cursed seal, like Anko for example, it would lie inside Jugo. So now you know who I'm searching for," I finished up before we continued to jump through the forest.

* * *

"We're home!" I called out as we entered the front door.

"Welcome back!" replied Dawn. "Did you do what needed to be done?"

"Oh yes. All of Gatou's stash is with us here," I replied, pointing outside where a clone popped his head through the door and waved at a bewildered Tazuna.

"What? All his money?" he exclaimed.

"That's right. I thought we should give the money to you so you can divide it up equally to the citizens of Wave Country."

"Well... thank you very much!" he said while bowing, Tsunami and Inari doing the same.

"By the way Tazuna. I have a business proposition for you. Interested?" I asked.

"Sure. I'll even do it for free as thanks for everything you've done for us. You all are real heroes of Wave and we'll always be indebted to you!" said Tazuna emotionally. It seemed he still couldn't believe that the oppression was over.

(Cue song Everybody Wants To Rule The World by Tears For Fears)

The next week was a complete seven day celebration for the entire country. Everyone left their home to enjoy the festival on the bridge. Artisans and metalworkers were brought in to modal statues of myself, Dawn, Trunks, Kakashi, Zabuza and Haku. Kakashi and Haku declined with modesty but the rest of us agreed. We gave good poses with our swords (except for Dawn and Zabuza) for the artisans and they shaped the statues with great accuracy. The statues were then erected at the ends of the bridge. Dawn and I were at the mainland end with Zabuza and Trunks on the Wave Country end. When all was finished the statues looked like they were guarding the bridge. At my suggestion a tall memorial fountain was built in the middle of the large square at the Wave end of the bridge, to honour those who fell fighting for the country. An identical square was made on the opposite end. Tazuna also wanted to name the bridge, 'The Great Naruto bridge' but I disagreed. Upon answering his following question on the name I said, "Call it 'The Bridge of Good Hope'."

After the week, Tazuna got to work on my beach house project. It soon became apparent that my initial idea wasn't going to be big enough for everyone I was planning to invite to it so the place was now going to be a beach resort complex. Big enough to house 100 people. Thanks to Ken, I was able to get plans for a really expensive beach resort building from my home world. While on construction, a pleasant discovery was made. There was a cliff about 200 meters away from the beach. This had a natural hot spring bursting out of several cracks in the cliff. And so the hot spring was split up into three areas. One for men, one for woman and a co-ed area for couples. Each area was big enough for plenty of space. Several statues of foxes, dragons, wolves, weasels, falcons and racoons were made in which hot water spurted from their mouths in each area.

The entire complex was two huge buildings, one behind the other with the back one higher up [1]. The bedrooms were mostly on the back building, each one looking like a room out of the Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney [2] and all with views of the beach. Dining and recreation areas were in the front building and the roof was a large dancing area for parties as well as an infinity pool that stretched across the whole length of the roof. There were enough rooms for everyone to sleep privately. (Everyone meaning all the people I had in mind for future parties to have there) The room where I would stay was as big as my master bedroom back home. There were also plenty of couple rooms as well. The dining area housed a full commercial kitchen capable of several someone's cooking up a storm, and a large dining room with five long tables capable of seating 20 on each. The recreation area was mostly just a heap of couches and recliner seats where we could relax after dinner. Ken also assigned a staff of angels to the resort, to make sure the place continued to stay clean when we weren't there.

Searching the area more I discovered that the waves on the beach were all types. Spanning the entire length of the beach there were waves from toddler size to massive 100 footer monsters. One place even had waves identical to the waves found at Cho-Pu in Hawaii and another spot had waves like at Maveriks where the mound of water suddenly jacked up in less than 10 seconds. I grinned in anticipation for the surfing that would happen in the near future.

(Cue song The Clandestine Dark Suits by Takeharu Ishimoto from Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Original Soundtrack)

A few days after the construction had begun, a small seven tailed, black fox approached me. Looking around I realised that Sasuke was nearby. Indicating the fox to follow I bounded into the trees and looked around before nodding at the fox. It nodded back and morphed into a human-fox hybrid.

"Greetings Commander. My name is Yamu and I am Capitan of Zulu Squad. What is the mission you would have us do?" he asked.

"I require you to seek out three people and pinpoint their locations for me, Capitan," I said before describing what I knew about Suigetsu, Jugo and Karin's appearances. "You're also to find out their feelings for Orochimaru, the Sound Village and their personalities. Have your subordinates reveal themselves to those three after they gain their trust and see if they will willingly join my clan."

"Very well Commander. Zulu Squad will carry out this mission with pride as you have requested us personally. I will report when all three have been located and when all preparations are finished," said Yamu before he disappeared into the shadows.

(Cue song Dawn by Kajiura Yuki from Tsubasa Chronicle Original Soundtrack - Future Soundscape IV)

After two weeks of building the complex was completed, thanks to my Kage Bunshin. The place was furnished, all the white goods were installed in the kitchen and all the bedding was in place. Power and water were connected. I decided that sometime after I had picked up Tsunade I would invite everyone here for a weekend of relaxation.

We stood on the Wave side of the bridge with all the citizens of Wave there to say farewell to us. Inari was crying. In fact there were a lot of tearful goodbyes. I grinned and shook Tazuna's hand. "We'll be back for sure!" I promised. He then handed me a fancy scroll.

"What's this?" I asked.

"It's a request for induction into Fire Country. Even though Gatou, our main problem, is gone for good, we still have missing nins that still see our country as a place of refuge and plunder. If we were made a part of Fire Country then they would leave us alone for fear of capture. Plus Konoha, on a whole would gain more revenue from having a large trading hub and more mission requests would probably be collected there because of Wave being a trading hub," replied Tazuna.

I grinned. This would be a nice surprise for Hiruzen. "You can count on me. I'll get this safely to our Hokage. You can expect a fox at your door with an answer soon," I said.

I then bent down to Inari. "See ya squirt!" I said.

"Bye Naruto-nii-chan," he replied, sniffing.

"Don't worry. It won't be forever kid. We'll see each other real soon, I promise," I said before standing straight and looking at my friends. "Time to go."

* * *

Author's Notes

I've updated the chapter as I didn't want to become someone who killed humans. That might come later but for now I'm just a Demon Killer.

[1] - Layout of the hotel and area surrounding it looks similar to the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel in Hawaii. For info click on the link listed on my profile.

[2] - Typical single room. Mostly Ebony and brown colour schemes. For info click on the link listed in my profile.


	11. Chapter 11: Home Sweet Home

**Chapter 11: Home Sweet Home**

(Cue song The Stroll by FORCE OF NATURE from Samurai Champloo OST - Impression)

"So, you're actually from another world?" asked Gozu disbelievingly.

"Yep!" I answered.

As we trailed down the road Kakashi put Sasuke and Sakura on point. This was done for two reasons. The first was so Sasuke could feel self important and not continue to sulk on the fact that he had missed out of the fight on the bridge. But the main reason was so those two were out of earshot from us talking about certain topics.

"And you're also the new guardian of Fire Country?" asked Meizu.

"Yep!" I replied. I had so far explained everything about myself, including who I really was, my role, the fact that I was now considered Lord of all Foxes and the fact that most of the people in the village hated my guts.

"Wow!" said Haku.

"I've got a question," said Zabuza. "Do you have any ninjas in your world?"

"Yeah, we got a few awesome ninjas. I can think of 11 really famous ones. You wanna hear about them?" I asked while inside I was grinning like a madman.

"Sure," replied Zabuza with Kakashi listening in with interest.

"Ok. I'm gonna start with the least famous and then go to the most famous one. No. 11 is a guy called Jesus."

"Jesus?" asked Haku.

"That's right. He's a med-nin who is known for his amazing healing abilities. Probably as powerful as Tsunade. Unfortunately he was only able to master Water Walking in terms of chakra control.

"No. 10 is Jago. Any ninja can hit you with a ton of hits. But Jago will hit you with a ton of hits and look cool while doing it. No. 9 is a ninja called Thomas. He's not your stereotypical ninja. He doesn't wear a mask, doesn't dress in black and his taijutsu left a lot to be desired. He could only throw straight punches or kicks. But he doesn't need all that. At one point his girlfriend was kidnapped and he said "Fuck it! I'm gonna bust through that door and beat all their asses!" He was so powerful he could take out fleets of men with just a punch. He was also not afraid to punch a guy in the nuts or a midget in the face."

"Damn!" said all the males present.

"No. 8 is called Joe Musashi. He doesn't have many unique ninjutsu but his reputation for kicking the asses of bad guys from kidnapping kids is what puts this guy on my list."

"Sounds like a good guy," said Kakashi.

"No.7 is a kid called Goemon. He kicks ass with a YoYo."

"What?" said Zabuza.

"Yeah. A YoYo. But can you name another ninja who can beat the hell out of you with a YoYo?" I asked Zabuza.

"Well..."

"I didn't think so. No.6 is just nuts. Sometimes size just doesn't matter. The guy's name is i-Ninja and he's a pint sized professor of death. He's crazy accurate with his chain. However he's prone to going bonkers when he gets mad. No.6 is known as the Chief of Chill. His name is SubZero. And if he didn't like you he'd rip your friggin head off. He was also a master of Hyòton jutsu."

"Really!" asked Haku. "I wish I could meet him."

"No.4 is a guy called Strider but I'm not sure what should be on the list. Him or his sword. Either way he's a top notch ninja. He's fast, nimble in the air, and has complete control of his surroundings. He also has control of metal tigers." I looked at the stunned looks everyone was showing and I almost cracked up. They were taking all these guys so seriously even though most of the people I was naming were from video games. "One wrong move around this guy and he'll hack and slash you so fast you'll explode. Yeah, explode!"

"No.3 isn't technically a ninja, but he's just so resourceful that he should be one. His name is Frank West. In fact he's so good that people call him Frank F'ing West instead. He's just that good. Frank West can jump off any height of a building and deliver a sweet knee drop damaging everything around him and still manage to stand up and continue to cause destruction. Frank West can cut off someone's head with a karate chop. Frank West can punch you in the stomach and pull out your innards and take a picture of it. Frank F'ing West. There's even a move dedicated to him. It's called the Frank Wested. Basically it's when you grab the nearest thing to you and use it as a weapon. It can be a katana, it can be a manikin, it can be a cash register, gumball machine, frying pan, book, broom, park bench, whatever."

"...wow," said Zabuza.

"No. 2's name is Kratos. He's not a ninja either but he's just so awesome that he's on the list. Kratos became a god, got bored and went back to being a man, just because he liked being a man! He rips dudes in half, and beat's up gods. Not just men, gods! He's got chains burned into his arms, bangs chicks whenever he wants, and has crawled out of hell, twice!"

"Holy shit!" said Gozu in awe.

"However No.1 is a true ninja if I ever saw one. His name is Ryu Hayabusa. He's a super human freak that throws fireballs, flies, and can cut anything in half. That's awesome. He has sword skills, nunchuck skills, decapitation skills and pretty any ninja skill you would ever want. Ryu has so much power, skill, grace and awesomeness that he literally has the title of Super Ninja! In fact, I can henge into him so you can see what I mean." I then did so and they looked on in awe.

The Black Falcon outfit's sleek design was quite modern while the tabi boots, ninja head piece, mask, scarf and shin/forearm guards are reminiscent of the ancient ninja warrior.

"Wow! So that's what he looks like. He's quite impressive," said Kakashi who was a little jealous by the look on his face.

"Ryu is the son of Jô Hayabusa the current leader of the Hayabusa Clan, a ninja clan named after the clan's animal guardian the Hayabusa or Peregrine Falcon. Both father and son are the last of the Dragon Ninja, they are descended from a long line of warriors known as the Dragon Lineage, these are the Dragon Ninja tasked with safeguarding the world from supernatural forces bent on conquest and destruction should they arise again." I explained in his voice, which was Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 voice. "While he's mostly silent, Ryu has the demeanour and wisdom of a man far older than himself, due to his prolific lineage and mantle of station as a respected ninja. His exploits have given him an attitude far removed from most others, and he understands things in more abstract and philosophical terms. He has a tranquil nature, much akin to water; free flowing most of the time, but unforgiving and crushing when roused. His personality can range between two extremes. Outside of battles he is modest and refined, often speaking politely and being respectful, while in combat with his enemies he is cold, calculative and brutal, killing them without mercy. He puts honour and protecting his friends before anything else." I then dispelled the henge.

(Cue song Not Quite Seleah by Fat Jon from Samurai Champloo OST - Impression)

"By the way, Dawn," I said, looking over to my significant other. "I think, when we get back, we should go on a official date because we kinda jumped each other before doing any actual dating." Dawn's face lit up at the prospect of having a nice date with me. "That would be great! I'd love to!" she said before glomming me, however I managed to stay upright by spinning around while holding onto her. We both grinned as we pushed our foreheads together.

"Wait a minute! You two have already had sex!" said Kakashi in complete surprise.

We both turned to him. "Yeah, we have," I answered while Dawn nodded happily.

Kakashi looked very jealous. "Damn!" he muttered before turning around.

"Woah Kakashi! Does this mean that you're still a..." I didn't finish. Kakashi just looked sadly at us and nodded.

"But how can that be! Surely there must be one woman in your fanclub that catches your attention?" I asked.

"Yeah. My Fanclub is 50 strong but I'm looking not just for a beautiful woman, but for a soul mate. You know, the one," he explained.

"Man Kakashi. I had no idea," I said.

"Really? You had no idea?" he asked.

I smiled. "Just because you were part of a series in my world doesn't mean that your sex life was as well. Of course in Part 2 Kurenai and Asuma got together..."

"What!"

"Yeah, I know. Weird how that works out, huh? Kurenai can't stand his smoking now but in four years she and Asuma are an item? Who woulda thunk," I said. "Of course now it could be different. Zabuza could get together with Kurenai instead. That would be something to see."

Kakashi looked at Zabuza and nodded, making his non-existent right eyebrow twitch. "Yeah. There's no way of that happening."

"Yeah! Well you just watch! I bet I can get this Kurenai, no sweat!" He then fished out a book from one of his pockets and began to flip through it. I then realised that it was a Bingo Book.

"You won't find her in there. She's not famous enough to be in there yet. She's still new to the Jōnin club," I said. "Don't worry. I'll introduce you, but before I do, you're going to need new clothes." I then turned to Haku, Meizu and Gozu. "This means you three as well."

"So where's our date going to be at?" Dawn asked.

I wagged my finger at her. "Not telling ya!" I said. "This is going to be my surprise. You can organise the next date, ok?"

"Ok," she said, a little bummed out but happy for a surprise. "Can you at least tell me how we're going to finish?" she asked slyly. Not missing a beat I replied in a sexy voice, "Simultaneously."

"Oh he's good," said Zabuza to Kakashi, to which he just nodded, most likely committing what he just saw to memory.

(Cue song The Capital of Numara by Nobuo Uematsu from Lost Odyssey Original Soundtrack)

We made good time getting back to Konoha. Kakashi had already sent a message sent by one of his younger nin-dogs to the Hokage detailing an official summery of the mission. However he was going to explain the unofficial version in person which included the battle with the Dark Flan demon.

As we walked through the gates of the village, the gate guards called us over. Turning to look I saw Izumo and Kotetsu. I waved good naturedly to them. In the past month and a half before going to Wave I had become quite acquainted with them. At one point I, Trunks and Dawn hung out with them and they introduced us to their friends, Hayate, Genma and Hayate's girlfriend, Yùgao of the ANBU. By the end of that day we were good friends.

"What's up guys?" I asked.

"The Hokage wants to see you and Kakashi as soon as you got back," said Izumo before looking at Zabuza, who was a little nervous at being inside a ninja village again. The other members of his team were too. "I can't believe you got them to join you," he said.

"Yeah. We couldn't believe when Hokage-sama told us. The Demon of the Mist and his team members joining Naruto's clan? We thought he'd finally received one too many hits to the old forehead protector," said Kotetsu with a laugh.

"Don't you drag me into this! You're the one who thought it, not us," glared Izumo.

I laughed at their antics. "Thanks guys. We'll get over to the tower then," I said before we moved on. Sasuke and Sakura, with Kakashi's permission, split from us.

After we had moved through the village and up the stairs in the Hokage Tower we knocked on the Hokage's Office door, smiling at the secretary as we entered.

Inside the Hokage was sitting behind his desk. The paperwork out file was full with the in pile empty.

"Yo Hiruzen! Whatcha been up to?" I asked.

"Ah Naruto, Kakashi. You're here," he responded before he saw Zabuza and co. "You must be Zabuza, Haku, Meizu and Gozu. Welcome to Konoha," he greeted. Zabuza surprised me by bowing to the Hokage. "Thank you Hokage-sama. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Well then, it seems that you are now part of the Kitsune Clan if what was said in Kakashi's report true. I would be glad to give you ninja status in Konoha however you must first take an induction test for us to correctly measure your skills and place you in the right rank," explained Hiruzen.

"Thank you Hokage-sama," replied Zabuza with respect.

"Speaking of inductions," I said before pulling out the scroll that Tazuna gave me before we parted and placed it on the Hokage's desk. "Tazuna wanted for me to deliver that to you."

Hiruzen nodded before unfurling the scroll and began to read. I watched as Hiruzen's eyes showed surprise before settling into happiness. "Well this is a surprise, but a good one. I'll be glad to agree to this but it will take some time to draw up the necessary documents and whatnot."

"If you can just write a letter saying you agree to it then I'll get one of my subordinates to carry the message to Tazuna," I said. Hiruzen nodded. "Sounds like a plan." He then locked his hands together and placed then on the desk in front of him. He then looked at us seriously. "Now why don't you tell me what really happened on the bridge as I've summed up the fact that there was something else?"

(Cue song The Order That Must be Protected by Takeharu Ishimoto from Dissidia -Final Fantasy- Original Soundtrack)

"I can never get anything past you, can I?" I asked good naturedly before going serious myself. "Yes, something more did happen but I'd rather say it in private." Hiruzen nodded before activating the Sound Silencing Barrier jutsu. I then proceeded to tell him the whole story of the battle with the Dark Flan, the distribution of Gatou's blood money from the Wave, and building my beach resort.

"I see. So there really are demons in this world," he said, sighing.

"You don't sound surprised," I noted.

"Well for a long time we thought that the tailed beasts were demons themselves, no offence," he added to Dawn who shook her head, indicating that it was all good. "But ever since you've told me the truth I've learned to not to judge on face value alone. However there have always been strange things going on in the Elemental Countries that couldn't be explained, until now."

"I get it," I said before I turned to Dawn. "Is there any way the Mizukage could be a demon in disguise or is he just a horrible person?" I asked, surprising the Mist team. I carefully avoided that it was Uchiha Madara who was pulling his strings, but my time here had proven to me that things were different.

"It is possible. If Jinchūriki didn't exist, then all the guardians would be doing their job. They, and the armies they command, would be patrolling their country's borders, making sure no demons got into the country. Since Mizu's Guardian is currently in the Mizukage it's quite possible that one managed to slip past the patrols and kill the Mizukage before instantly taking his place. That would explain his irrational paranoia of Bloodline users. Demons hate people who can wield powers that they themselves can. The bad kind sees humans as lower class and someone with a Bloodline power, that can wield their powers, if only a fraction, just tick them off. But the Mizukage could still be there and just be a complete bastard," explained Dawn.

"This is something to think about. Is there any demons in Konoha?" asked Hiruzen. Dawn shook her head. "Sorry, but I don't know. The only way to flush them out of hiding is for Josh here to flaunt his power which will draw in the demons and then we fight them. Currently we have no idea on how many demons have infested Fire Country."

There was a deathly silence as the implications of this statement sunk in.

"Well, I guess there's nothing we can do as we can't find them either and it would look suspicious if we tried to interrogate everyone in the village. So I'll leave it up to you Josh," said the Hokage.

"You can count on me sir!" I said.

"I'm getting too old for this shit," he said. "I need a vacation."

"I think I can help you with that," I said before U can do it! by DOMINO (Naruto Shippuden's 15th ending theme) blasted out of my pocket. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone.

(Cue song Trunks Story by Bruce Faulconer from Dragonball Z: Trunks Compendium 1)

"Huh, it's Naruto," I said, seeing the phone ID. I touched the green button and put the phone on speaker.

_"Hey there!"_ came a voice that I didn't recognise. _"It's Minato!"_ Poor Hiruzen and Kakashi nearly had a heart attack.

"Hey Minato! It's great to finally hear from you. How's Naruto?"

_"He's fine. Kid's playing outside with his uncles in the Uzumaki clan. I actually wanted to talk to you about my inheritance."_

"What about it?"

_"I want you to have it. Since Naruto is here there's no one to give it to. I don't want all of mine and Kushina's things to go to waste so it's yours! The money, the compound, everything."_

I was really shocked. "You mean it?" I asked.

_"Yeah! You're helping out Konoha. Even if most of those bastards deserve to be wiped off the face of the earth for what they've done to my son, there are some who deserve to be protected by you. Naruto's already told me all that you told him so I'm up to speed on your situation. I've got more money than the Hyugas several times over and a compound that I'll never use again so you've got the rights to have it all."_

"Well... thank you! Thank you very much!"

_"Don't sweat it! I guess that I'll need to tell Hiruzen that you are allowed to get the inheritance."_

"No need. He's right here and has been listening to everything you've been saying."

_"Oh great! That makes things easier. Yo! Old Man Hiruzen! Can you hear me?"_

"Y-yes I can here you Minato," stuttered the Hokage.

_"I want you to give Josh here everything of mine and Kushina's ok?"_

"Sure thing," agreed Hiruzen.

_"Oh by the way, you figured out my paperwork trick?"_

"Yes, you bastard," growled out Hiruzen. "Why didn't you tell me that it was Kage Bunshin?"

_"Well, I was bored and it entertained me watching you get so worked up over my secret when everyone who knew how to do it saw the potential beyond combat use."_

"Don't rub it in," said Sarutobi glumly. He then looked up in horror. "What a minute! Everyone knew?"

_"Yeah, even the Raman Chefs at Ichiraku's figured it out on their own, theory wise, as they aren't trained in chakra arts."_

Thump!

...

_"Hey! Old man! You there?"_

"Sorry but your news made him faint. I don't think that he could believe that Ayame and Teuchi knew about the clone trick," I said as I pulled the phone close to my face once again.

There was the sound of loud laughter before Minato's voice came through again. _"Well since you still have Naruto's blood in you then you can open the secret compartment yourself. It's..."_

"Behind your picture?" I asked, grinning.

_"Yeah, how did you know?"_

"Long story. Just accept that I know many things and leave it at that."

_"Ok, well I'll tell Naruto that you said hi."_

"Cheers Minato!" I then hung up. I then looked at Hiruzen and sighed. "He's not getting up any time soon," I said before I walked over to where the pictures of the four Hokage's were. Removing Minato's picture I bit my thumb and swiped the blood over the surface of the wall. An intricate blood seal appeared and then the whole area that the picture covered swung open. Inside were two scrolls and a pair of keys. Oping the first scroll I saw that it was a letter from Minato explaining various things. Like who he was, why he sealed Dawn inside Naruto and saying that he loved Naruto. Typical stuff. There was a small explanation that the second scroll was a letter from his mother.

I then opened the second scroll and went through much of the same stuff that Minato did. I was about to throw them in the bin when I hesitated, thinking that it was disrespectful before pocketing them. I then turned to my friends. "I'll check out the Namikaze residence later on. Right now we need to get you four settled."

"Great, but..." Zabuza broke off, looking at the Hokage who was still conked out on the desk.

"Ah don't worry bout him," I said before turning to Kakashi. "Do you want to come with us?"

He nodded. He had been a little shaken when he had heard his old sensei's voice but he had calmed down now. "Sure," he said simply before we walked out of the office and out of the tower toward my home.

* * *

(Cue song The Space Between Two Worlds by Nujabes from Samurai Champloo OST - Departure)

"This is it?" asked Kakashi as he looked at a large three story building.

"Sure is," I said as I looked at Dawn. She in turn, knew exactly what I wanted her to do. She walked up to the double doors and turned so that her back was towards the middle of the doors. She then opened the doors and walked backwards into the house while saying, "Welcome, to the Kitsune Manor," as if she was introducing the Playboy Mansion.

The four ex-mist Ninja and Kakashi gasped softly as the insides were shown to them for the first time. They were blown away.

"It's almost like being inside sensei's house again," murmured Kakashi.

"I guess Minato's house looks something like this inside?" I asked him. He nodded.

"Well, follow me and I'll show you the common areas before showing you to your new rooms."

For the next thirty minutes I showed the newcomers the living areas before moving to the bedrooms. The insides of each room were very nice. In each one there was a double bed with bedside tables and lamps, two nicely cushioned chairs with a small cylinder like table between them, a study table with candles on it with a more practical chair than the two cushioned ones, and finally a large wardrobe. The floor was covered in a creamy yellow carpet. Behind the two chairs and table there was a large window that took up the whole wall where you could see the street below and the Hokage mountain was visible from the window. White and creamy yellow curtains framed the window. The colour scheme was mostly whites and creamy yellows, with a bit of green from a plant in the corner.

"Wow! Looks like a hotel!" commented Haku.

"Yeah, and an expensive one too!" said the twins at the same time. They then turned to me. "Can we share a room between us?" they asked in unison. They reminded me of Hikaru and Kaoru from Oran High School Host Club.

"I thought you would ask that so I took the liberty of setting up your bedroom with two single beds. However if you intend on bringing a girl back for some freaky business then either use a different, unoccupied room or stay at a hotel for the night. All these rooms are soundproofed so that if you and your girlfriend are having an especially good time you won't have to bother with holding back," I added slyly, getting blushes from all the ex-mist nin. "Well, now that that's settled, let's get you some clothes."

The next two hours was spent on buying clothes for the new members of the Kitsune clan. Haku opted for more feminine clothing, no surprise there. He chose loose fitting shirts and pants, mostly in a wide range of blues. The twins all chose greys and blacks. They decided to buy their new mission clothes later. But Zabuza decided to get his now. His casual style of clothing was more traditional than the others with a modern twist. Hakamas and tight shirts were his thing. His mission outfit was a skintight, black high-collared sleeveless shirt and a navy blue hakama with a black obi-sash. As they were choosing clothes, I was calling Ken.

"Can you do a few things for me?" I asked.

_"Sure, what do you need?"_ Ken replied.

"The first thing is to merge the Kitsune Manor into the Namikaze compound? Make it all one house?"

_"I can do that, no sweat."_

"The other thing I need is for Zabuza. I need one gauntlet made out of Black Mythril. One that looks like the Knight Gauntlets in the Dynasty Warriors 6: Empires Edit mode. I just need one, for the right hand. And the second is a replica of the Ragnarok sword from Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles. The black metal is Black Mythril, with the gold metal made of BrightSteel. These items are for Zabuza as he won't wield his old sword after I broke it in two."

_"I can do that too. Do you want me to do the house now?"_

"No, not yet. Come round tomorrow at lunch and do it then. Then afterwards, if you're not too busy, maybe you would like to join us for lunch at Ichiraku's?"

_"Absolutely, I've been meaning to get out and about. This gives me the perfect excuse. The gauntlet and sword will be on your bed in a few minutes."_

"Thanks Ken. You've been a big help."

_"No problems. You call me if there's anything else you need."_

"Actually there is one other thing. If Dawn was to move into a real body, would she have to re-earn her tails?"

_"Dawn?"_

"Yeah, that's what her name is now."

_"I see. And yes, she would, however she would gain them much more quickly than before. What happened over hundreds of years will probably take three or four years to regain with training. However since she has given up her title of Fire Country defender to you, she will no longer be able to attain the ninth tail. The most she could probably get to is being a seven tailed kitsune."_

"I see. I'll talk with her about this. She doesn't like being vulnerable."

_"Very well. You should know that since you are a hanyou, you will also earn your tails much faster, most likely one every six years until you get up to nine. You can either let this happen naturally, or train with the youki to speed up the process by several times. It's up to you, though I have a feeling what you will choose. I'll see you tomorrow midday."_

* * *

White Kyuubi: So we've finally cleared the Zabuza Saga! Yay!

(Cue audience applause)

Josh Kitsune: There was someone who complained that you were writing too much on the stuff before the Zabuza Saga.

White Kyuubi: Well that's because there was lots to tell. But now that we're past that point, we can continue forward.

Orochimaru: Prepare yourself Konoha for-

White Kyuubi: Not. Now. Orochimaru. Can you come back later?

Orochimaru: ... But I had all the-

Josh Kitsune: Yeah, we're not there yet. Can you do Tuesday?

Orochimaru: Tuesday's no good for me. How bout Wednesday?

White Kyuubi: Nope. Wednesday Josh will be going to find the new Hokage with Jiraiya. And Thursday you'll be facing off against them.

Orochimaru: Yes, I know that! Well then, how about Monday?

Josh Kitsune: Yeah.

White Kyuubi: Sure.

Orochimaru: Just you wait Konoha. JUST YOU WAIT! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAAAAAAAAA...*cough* *leaves the scene*

White Kyuubi: Idiot. And now we have a special competition. The first person who can name the games that each ninja from my list hails from, get's a prize. I will reveal an idea/plot change to my story to you that hasn't been used. I promise that it will be a good one.

Josh Kitsune: You mean better than the fact that Dawn's ears are very sensitive so nibbling on them is a great way to calm her down or to get her in the mood, or to simply tease her.

White Kyuubi: Yes! Better than that!

Josh Kitsune: Even better than telling the readers that Ozma's going to crash the party when-

White Kyuubi: Not that! That's still in development.

Josh Kitsune: How bout better than the fact that Hayate will stay alive and be cured of his illness.

White Kyuubi: That's a given. Everyone likes Hayate.

Josh Kitsune: What about-

White Kyuubi: You know what, why don't we just see how it goes. Plus, the person who wins will get mentioned next chapter with a ultra cool title.


	12. Chapter 12: The Date

**Chapter 12: The Date**

(Cue song The Yaschas Massif by Masashi Hamauzu from Final Fantasy XIII Original Soundtrack)

The rest of the day went by quickly. When the guys came out in their new clothes they all looked really good. Zabuza especially. He looked really handsome, judging from the looks I saw women giving him. I was thankful that his teeth were not pointed like sharks teeth. The twins also brushed up quite nicely as well. And Haku was gaining a moe-specialised fan-club on the spot with all the looks he was getting. 'I wonder if Haku _is_ gay?' I thought to myself. His choice of clothes were feminine. 'Maybe that was just a habit of years dressing as a girl. I'll ask him later.'

After that we all went back home but I broke off, saying that I needed to do an errand. As soon as I was alone I sped off to Ichiraku's and told them of my date with Dawn. In the month and a half before the Wave mission, they had come to know everything about Dawn and me. They were shocked at first, who wouldn't be, but after explaining the details, they understood and most importantly, forgave Dawn. Since then she has always been welcome at the little raman stand. There was also a great deal of crying from Ayame and Teuchi from the fact that Naruto was dead, but I cheered them up by ringing Naruto, where he then talked to the raman chefs. They were amazed at this miracle, but soon accepted everything that happened.

Old man Teuchi always said that looking at Dawn and I was like looking at Minato and Kushina again when they dated at the raman stand. He was one of the very small handful of people aware of the secret relationship between the two. Not out of being told, but out of being just plain observant. He admitted that when Naruto first came to the raman stall, he only invited him to eat for free that night because of his creepy resemblance to Minato, but after the first sitting, he was convinced that Naruto was the product of both Minato and Kushina. Minato's good looks and natural battle instincts with Kushina's never-say-die attitude and boisterous personality. Teuchi also freaked out a bit when I saw him after my change to being a hanyo. I literally looked like the Yondaime aside from the purple eyes and the white streaks in my hair. But I digress.

"Hey guys!" I said cheerfully. Ayame looked up to see my smiling face. "Hello Josh-kun! What will it be for today?"

"Actually I want to take Dawn out for a dinner date. But since I can't go into any expensive restaurant I was wondering..."

"If we would set up a romantic table for the two of you?" asked Teuchi.

"Right on the nail," I said. The old man grinned. "Sure! We can do that. Isn't that right Ayame?"

"Absolutely! Leave everything to us!" she said, her eyes sparkling at the idea of Dawn and I on a romantic date. I mentally rolled my eyes. 'Girls. They always have to go starry eyed at the sight of something romantic,' I thought to myself.

"Thanks you guys. We'll be here round 7," I said before taking off to my next stop. Making sure to henge into my undercover form, I walked into a formal clothes store. I left soon after with a black silk Kosode and Hakama with a long, sleeveless white Haori with the kanji for Lord of Foxes written down the back in large symbols. It was an almost carbon copy of the Shinigami Capitan's uniform in Bleach. The only thing missing was the white undershirt and straw Zori. And the fact that it looked more formal than what the Shinigami Capitan's wore.

When I arrived back at the Kitsune Manor the guys were already settled in. I walked up to my room and saw that Zabuza's new sword and gauntlet were on my bed. Grabbing the two items I made my way back downstairs and found Zabuza's new room. He had placed a crude sign on his door saying that this room was his. I knocked on the door.

"Yeah? What is it?" came Zabuza's voice. "It's me, can I come in?" I asked.

"The door's open."

I walked into his room to see Zabuza lounging on his soft bed. "This beats sleeping outside any day," he said before noticing the deadly but beautiful sword in my hand. "Damn man! That's a beautiful sword!" he said.

"I'm glad you think so, because it's yours now, along with this gauntlet," I said as I handed the two items to him. His eyes widened at me. "You serious?" he asked in disbelieve.

"Yeah, after all, I did break your last sword, I wanted to give you this as you are now part of my new swordsman group as well as the Kitsune clan," I said as Zabuza took the sword from me and inspected the blade. "Perfection," he breathed out.

"It's called Ragnarok. The name comes from my world. In one of the many cultures, Ragnarok is the name of the day when the end of the world happens, and the gods go to war," I said as he slipped the gauntlet on. He flexed his fingers through the metal glove before grinning at me. "Thank you so much Josh. I'm really glad you beat me on the bridge so I could come here."

"Why thank you Zabuza. By the way, since you're now part of the new Swordsman group, which I still haven't thought of a good name for yet, you'll have your own callsign," I said.

"Ok, sounds fair. What do you have in mind?"

"Black Wolf. Whatcha think?"

Zabuza grinned, "I like it."

"So, feel like testing out your new toy?" I asked, already knowing his answer.

"Hell yeah!" he replied as he stood up. "By the way, what's your callsign?"

"Hmm." I actually hadn't given it any thought. "That's a good question... ... ... ... Ah! It's Fox Commander."

"Very well then. Let's go tear up a training area," Zabuza grinned.

* * *

"Man! You really are tough," said Zabuza as we walked back from Training Area 7. Said area was now heavily battle scarred from intense sparring.

"Hey, you're the one who wanted to go all out," I countered.

"Touché," replied the black gauntlet wearing swordsman.

We were now walking down the main street and the female population was drooling at us. Zabuza was getting quite a lot of attention thanks to his skin tight shirt showing his chest muscles and his bare arms showing his strong abbs.

"Hey Zabuza, I think your fan-club is born," I said. He looked around before grinning, slightly embarrassed from all the attention. I turned to the front and saw Kurenai walking down the street towards us. I elbowed Zabuza in the ribs to get his attention.

"Oi, there she is, Kurenai," I said while pointing to the raven haired goddess. Zabuza looked, and his mouth dropped.

*Third POV*

(Cue song Grown Woman (feat. Ludacris) by Mary J. Blige)

To anyone else she was walking normal, but to Zabuza, she was really strutting her stuff. Time seemed to slow down to a crawl as he looked upon possibly the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He drunk in her complete image. He started on her feet and worked his eyes up. Her legs were long and well toned. Her hips swayed as she walked down the street. At one point her silky black hair fell over her eyes and she shook her head, whiplashing the hair out of her vision. This movement made her impressive assets bounce and jiggle slightly. Her lips, layered in red lipstick, were luscious looking, making Zabuza lick his own dry lips. And finally he looked into her ruby red eyes lined with purple eye liner. They were truly a sight to behold.

*First POV*

I grinned as I saw Zabuza's facial reaction as he looked her over from head to toe. I decided to cut this moment. "Don't stare, it's not a very good first impression," I said quietly. Zabuza shook his head before composing himself.

"Yo Kurenai!" I called. She turned her head to us and I fought an urge to roll my eyes as I heard a barely audible sigh from the love sick puppy next to me. She walked up to us and looked strangely at me. "Naruto?"

"That's me. Unless you've seen another devilishly handsome blonde with a quick wit and charming personality that calls himself Naruto? If so I demand that you take me to him so I can beat the snot out of him. There can only be one sexy beast in this village!" We both laughed before I went back to being serious. "I've undergone a little transformation as I unlocked my bloodline limit a couple of months ago," I explained.

"I'll say, you got taller. You're taller than me now... and you look like your late 20's," she commented.

"Yeah, I know. My new fan-club's been going nuts over that," I grumbled, making her giggle lightly. "By the way, let me introduce you to my good friend, Zabuza," I said, pointing at the swordsman next to me. She looked him over and I caught a slight blush from her before she held out her hand. "Hello Zabuza-san, my names Yūhi Kurenai. Nice to meet you."

"N-nice to meet you too K-Kurenai-san," Zabuza stuttered slightly, making her giggle lightly again.

'Mmm, nice chemistry happening here,' I noted.

"Well, I'm sorry but I can't stay and chat. I've got to meet up with my team," she said, actually looking regretful about the fact that she needed to leave.

"No problems Kurenai. Say hello to Hinata for me," I said, grinning.

"What are you saying?" commented Kurenai as she smiled suspiciously at me.

"Oh I know all about her crush on me, however she needs to build up her courage so she can tell me herself," I explained.

"Do you think you'll accept her?"

"Well that will be up to her. I'm already in a serious relationship with someone but since I've unlocked a unique bloodline limit, the council will force the CRA on me. So it's quite possible that she'll become one of my future wives as I care for her a lot. I consider her one of my most precious people, even if she doesn't realise it yet."

"I see. I'm glad," said Kurenai and I smiled; it meant a lot to me that she approved since she had become a sort of mother figure to Hinata. "Don't tell her though. Wouldn't want to spoil the surprise. However you can gently push her into telling me. A little encouragement goes a long way with that girl."

"Sure thing." She then turned to Zabuza. "It was a pleasure meeting you Zabuza-san. Maybe we'll see each other again sometime," she said, dropping the verbal invitation for another meeting. Zabuza caught on instantly and he blushed slightly. "I'll look forward to it," he replied.

"Great, I'll see you two later then," she said before walking away and giving Zabuza a very nice view of her swaying hips and great ass.

I grinned at Zabuza who was transfixed by her movements. "You have it so bad, my friend."

"She's so beautiful," said Zabuza.

I sighed and grabbed his arm, pulling him along. "C'mon you poor lovesick bastard, let's go."

* * *

(Cue music silence)

"C'mon Dawn! It's time to go!"

It was currently 6:30 in the evening. I was downstairs in the marble entrance hall, waiting for my date for this evening. I wore the new clothes I had bought earlier that day; black Hakama, black Kosode with the sleeveless, loose white Haori. I had worked in a small amount of gel into my hair. The style was still spiky but was pushed back so most the fringe was out of my eyes except for a single lock that hung over my left. The style looked like a white and gold version of Tōshirō Hitsugaya's hairstyle from Bleach.

I glanced at my iPhone again. '6:35. What's taking her so long?' I then heard the sound of high heels clicking down the stairs and I looked up to see Dawn walking down. I almost wished I hadn't.

(Cue song Callista by Saki Kaskas from Mass Effect 2)

She was dressed in a long black evening dress. The front was cut just above her breasts, fully showing her cleavage. The dress had two slits up the sides that reached all the way to the top of her thighs. Her long, elegant and well toned legs were covered in thigh high black stockings, the kind that didn't need suspenders attached to a garter belt. On her feet were black high heeled shoes. Her hands and arms were wrapped in long black silk gloves. And around her neck was a thin chain of silvery metal (White Gold or Silver, I wasn't sure what) with a large ruby attached to it.

'Bow chika bow wow! She looks just like a black clad version of Jessica Rabbit! Or a vixen version of Minerva Mink!' was the thought that was currently running around my head. Never had I seen a more beautiful woman in all my life. She was absolutely gorgeous before, but now she looked like a goddess. She had a rich red shade of glossy lipstick on and her eyes sparkled with life. Her image practically screamed 'You're getting laid tonight' at me.

She caught me looking her over and she turned around so I could see her nice round ass and the way her dress hugged her fabulous curves. I also saw that the back of the dress was cut very low, showing her flawless back. "Like what you see?" she asked in a sexy tone.

My response was to step towards her and kneel slightly before taking her right gloved hand and kissing it. "The words 'absolutely beautiful' will never do you justice Dawn-chan, as you surpass and overwhelm them in every way," I said, looking up to her face. She blushed at the complement. "Why thank you Josh-kun. You look very handsome yourself," she replied. I felt my face heat up from her complement as I had never heard that from a goddess such as herself. I straightened up and offered my arm to her. She smiled and linked her arm around mine. We were just about to step outside when Trunks appeared on the top stairs.

"Hey you two," he said, grinning at us. "Dawn! Show the Commander a good time tonight." He then disappeared back the way he came. We smiled at his retreating form before we walked outside and made our way down the street.

(Cue song Evening by Toshiro Masuda from Naruto Original Soundtrack I)

As we walked we gained mixed looks from the villagers passing by. The older generations still looked at me with hate and disgust but they also had envy mixed into their eyes. However the younger generation were looking at us either with lust, envy, jealousy or a mixture between the three. Girls were looking between Dawn and I, switching between envy and jealousy for Dawn's beauty and the fact that she was going out with me, and lust for my looks. The same for the guys, only their envious and jealous looks at me was directed at the fact that I had such a hot date.

"So where are we going?" asked Dawn.

"You'll see," I said.

* * *

"Ichiraku Raman?" asked Dawn.

"Yeah. Sorry but it was the only place I could go to since the villagers are still barring me from the good restaurants and even though I could put on a Kage Henge, I thought that you would rather eat with the real me," I explained. My answer was a hug from Dawn and a light kiss on my lips.

"That's ok, I don't mind," she replied.

"However I still wanted to make this dinner special," I added as I led her to the raman stand. We ducked under the flaps to see a two seater table set out in front of the counter. Ayame was currently placing chopsticks and napkins on the table which was covered with a white tablecloth and a pair of candles set in the middle. She looked up and smiled.

"Hey you two. Looking real smart. Especially you Josh-kun," she said.

"Why thank you Ayame. I see everything is set for us?" I asked.

"Sure is!" called Teuchi from over the wall that separated the kitchen area from the serving area. "Get yourselves seated and we'll be right with you."

I pulled out Dawn's chair like a gentleman would and smiled as she sat down. I then made my way to my own seat.

"So what can I get you two?" Ayame asked as she looked at the two of us.

"I'll get a large bowl of chicken raman, please," I asked.

"And I'll have a medium beef raman," requested Dawn.

"Coming right up," she said before moving back behind the wall separator.

We were silent for a few moments while we waited for our meal. There was no need for words, we just sat there and looked into each other's eyes. Sounds corny, I know, but that's all we felt like doing at the present time.

"So, tell me about yourself," I eventually said. "I don't know much about you at all."

"Well how much do you know about me from the Naruto series from your world?"

"Well in Naruto there was the ultimate demon known as the Juubi or ten tailed demon. At one time he was wrecking havoc on the human world. Then the man known as the Sage of the Six Paths came about. To stop the Ten-Tailed Beast's rampage, the Sage split up its chakra and used Izanagi to create nine separate, monstrous constructs of living chakra, which would become known as the tailed beasts. The remaining piece of the Juubi was sealed inside a stone prison thanks to the Sage and that prison became the moon. Over the centuries, the Nine-Tails gained a reputation as an age-old natural disaster, appearing suddenly out of nowhere to attack areas wherever human malice had collected and festered.

"Many decades ago, when Madara Uchiha defected from Konoha, he used his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan to take control of the Nine-Tails, and used it to help him fight against Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, to exact his revenge. The battle was so great that it tore the earth apart and created the Valley of the End. Despite being in control of the Nine-Tails' power, Madara was defeated and was believed to have died. After the battle, Hashirama's wife, Mito of the Uzumaki clan, sealed the Nine-Tails within herself in order to keep the threat that it posed contained, becoming its first Jinchūriki. Towards the end of her life, Mito passed on this status and responsibility to Kushina Uzumaki, who later became the wife of Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage.

"Twelve years before the start of the series, after the end of the Third Great Shinobi World War, the seal containing the Nine-Tails within Kushina weakened as she became pregnant and gave birth to Naruto. Despite keeping her childbirth a secret, Madara discovered their location, killed their escorts, broke the seal, and seized control of the Nine-Tails once again. Since Kushina survived the extraction, Madara tried to have the Nine-Tails kill her, but Minato arrived in time to save Kushina and brought her to safety with Naruto. After that, Madara summoned the Nine-Tails into Konoha, and ordered it to destroy the village.

"During the attack, the Nine-Tails was eventually released from Madara's control when Minato placed a contract seal on him, but not before it had decimated the Shinobi forces that attempted to repel it. Before the Nine-Tails could annihilate Konoha, Minato summoned Gamabunta onto its back, and later teleported it away from the village to Kushina and Naruto's location. Soon afterwards, Kushina used her chakra chains to subdue the beast, planning to seal it back inside her before she died. Minato, knowing that the Nine-Tails would return without a host and a threat Madara still was to the village, came up with a different plan to give Konoha the means to combat Madara if he should ever attack the village again.

"Using the Shiki Fujin, Minato sealed the Nine-Tails' Yin chakra within himself before preparing to seal the beast, along with its Yang chakra, within Naruto. The Nine-Tails realized Minato's intent and took the chance to attack Naruto when Kushina was weakened. However, its attack was unsuccessful as both Minato and Kushina used their bodies to shield their child, piercing them instead. Before the sealing was complete, the Nine-Tails used its last moment of freedom to curse the pair."

Dawn had her eyes closed as I described what I knew. After I finished she opened her eyes. "Well there are similarities between your story and the truth. The Juubi is actually the original guardian of the whole elemental nations. It's not clear what happened because that page of history is lost to us but he suddenly attacked everyone and everything in his sight, essentially going berserk. A person called the Sage of the Six Paths came along and split the Juubi and the nine guardians came about. In hindsight it was probably better because even someone as powerful as the Juubi wasn't all powerful and wasn't able to see everything. This way each of us could concentrate on a part of the Elemental countries instead of the whole. But the part about me being sealed in the Uzumaki family didn't happen with me. The first time I was sealed was inside Naruto, though I expect that this Madara was responsible for the genjutsu on me?"

"Yeah. He was the strongest Uchiha of his time, and still is," I said.

"The split happened 5,000 years ago, but for demons like us, 5,000 years equals out to about thirty years if converted to human years," finished Dawn.

"Well at least now that I'm a kitsune hanyo I don't feel like I'm dating an older woman. Though since it's you I don't mind in the slightest," I said lovingly, placing my hand over hers. She smiled back before going serious again.

"There's something else I need to tell you as well. Now that you're a kitsune hanyo you are, in a sense, immortal. But this is only half true as we can still die from either getting out heads chopped off or if our hearts are somehow removed from our body."

"Not that this conversation is absolutely riveting as a diner topic," I said sarcastically before I realised what she was saying. "So you mean... I won't die of old age?"

She nodded. "That's right."

"Damn," I said, thinking for a moment. 'That means that I'll out live all of my friends. Do I really want this?' I then shook my head mentally. 'It's a little too late for regrets now. The fusion has already been done for a few months now.'

"Do you regret it?" asked Dawn.

"Regret what?"

"Becoming a kitsune hanyo?"

I thought about it for a few moments before arriving at an answer. "Not really. Outliving everyone is a little daunting but I have you. That's enough to keep me going. And besides, I can just make new friends, and it's not like I'll never hear from them again. I can just call them up if I wanted. And I'm sure Ken will allow me to visit them on occasion. Death is just the next great adventure after all."

"I'm glad," said Dawn. She looked like she was going to say more but at that point the food came.

"Here you go, Dawn. One medium beef raman for you," said Ayame as she placed the bowl in front of her. "And for you Josh, one large bowl of chicken raman. Enjoy," she finished up before moving back behind the counter.

For the next few minutes we were silent again, but now we were just busy on eating. I then remembered the conversation I had with Ken and placed my chopsticks down.

"I had a talk with Ken today as the guys were getting their new clothes," I mentioned casually.

"Oh? What about?"

"A few things, Zabuza's new sword and gauntlet for one."

"I see. That is a nice sword. Suits him perfectly."

"Yeah, plus we talked about merging the Kitsune Manor with the Namikaze residence," I continued.

"That's a good idea. It's not good to be divided if your clan expands beyond nine bedrooms," said the fiery redhead.

I paused before going to the main event of this conversation. "We also talked about getting you a real body."

There was a long silence as Dawn looked at me in disbelieve. "Really?" she asked.

"Yeah. I think it's isn't fair how you're only here in spirit, basically. So I asked Ken about getting you a real body. He said yes but he also said that you would never be able to attain the ninth tail as you need to be of guardian status for that. However you would be able to gain up to seven tails plus you would gain them over a matter of a few years instead of hundreds of years. But it's up to you," I explained before leaning back to observe her reaction.

A myriad of emotions played across her face. First was shock before happiness and excitement took over. Then thoughtfulness flickered over her face before a smile with acceptance flowing from her eyes settled on her.

"I'll do it. I'll regain my body," she said.

I smiled, glad that she chose to become real again instead of a spirit inhabiting a faux body.

I finished my food before standing up and pulling out my iPhone. I selected a song in karaoke mode and placed the phone on the table. I then created 4 shadow clones dressed in almost identical clothes from mine. Their Haoris were gold instead of white. We huddled for a moment as I explained the plan before we got into position; two clones on either side of me with myself slightly in front. Then the music started and I began to sing with my clones backing me.

(Cue song This I Promise You by *NSYNC)

When the visions around you,  
Bring tears to your eyes  
And all that surround you,  
Are secrets and lies  
I'll be your strength,  
I'll give you hope,  
Keeping your faith when it's gone  
The one you should call,  
Was standing here all along..

And I will take  
You in my arms  
And hold you right where you belong  
Till the day my life is through  
This I promise you  
This I promise you

I've loved you forever,  
In lifetimes before  
And I promise you never...  
Will you hurt anymore  
I give you my word  
I give you my heart (give you my heart)  
This is a battle we've won  
And with this vow,  
Forever has now begun...

Just close your eyes (close your eyes)  
Each loving day (each loving day)  
I know this feeling won't go away (no..)  
Till the day my life is through  
This I promise you..  
This I promise you..

Over and over I fall (over and over I fall)  
When I hear you call  
Without you in my life baby  
I just wouldn't be living at all...

And I will take (I will take you in my arms)  
You in my arms  
And hold you right where you belong (right where you belong)  
Till the day my life is through  
This I promise you baby

Just close your eyes  
Each loving day (each loving day)  
I know this feeling won't go away (no..)  
Every word I say is true  
This I promise you

Every word I say is true  
This I promise you  
Ooh, I promise you...

(Cue song Autumn Light Chrysanthemum by Yasuharu Takanashi from Naruto Shippuden The Movie [Original Soundtrack])

After I finished singing the song with my clones as backers, Dawn was in tears. She wasn't the only one; Ayame and Teuchi were crying at the romantic scene in front of them. And not only that, but a small crowd had gathered in front of the stand, listening. They all now looked at me differently. The older people looked to be rethinking their ways, probably thinking that there was no way that demons could ever sing from the heart like I just did. The younger girls and some of the older woman who heard me sing now had hearts in their eyes, another anime trait in this world.

Dawn then got out of her seat and glued her lips to mine. We all heard sighs and 'Aww's from the crowd, but we didn't care. To me, there was nothing, nothing at all, that could pull me away from this moment.

She broke the kiss and whispered, "This is the best date in my whole life. Thank you so much, Josh."

I smiled lovingly. "Anything for you Dawn. You deserve it."

* * *

After the date we walked through the town for a bit. It seemed news of my small performance had spread throughout Konoha as almost everyone who looked at me with hate was now looking at me with curiosity. It was definitely an improvement.

"There's somewhere I want to take you before we go back," I said as I again took the lead through the streets. We walked along for a few minutes longer before we reached a park. Large trees created a canopy of dark green in the night. I continued to tow Dawn along before I stopped at the very middle of the park. In front of us there was a large fountain. The moonlight was dancing off the splashing water, sparkling the light around the area.

"What a beautiful spot," breathed Dawn as she took in the sight. While she was distracted I flicked through the songs on my iPhone until I found the right one. I set the phone on the side of the fountain and the song started to play.

(Cue song No Air by Jordin Sparks feat. Chris Brown)

Dawn turned around to see me holding out my hand out. "Dawn, would you have this dance with me?" I asked. She nodded, smiling radiantly and walked forward to clasp my hand with her own. We then placed our hands on each other, mine on her waist, Dawn's on my shoulder. We then began to dance a simple style for the whole song while the moon shone down on us from above.

"This has been the best night of my entire life," said Dawn as she leaned her head on my chest. In turn I wrapped my arms around her further and buried my face in her bright red hair. "Same here. Nothing can top this so far in my life," I replied. She then separated from me and looked deep into my eyes.

"I love you," she said simply, but the words were so full of love, trust, affection and devotion that I just broke down and cried.

"What's wrong?" she asked, worried. I shook my head.

"Nothing. It's just that I've waited so long for someone to say those words with so much meaning. I'm so happy," I sobbed. Dawn just knelt down next to me and wrapped her arms around me tightly. I did the same, pressing her body against mine and feeling the security of her hold on me. It was the most fulfilling feeling I had ever experienced.

"I love you too Dawn," I said softly, tightening my hold on her. "I love you so much."

* * *

(Cue music silence)

We were walking back to our home now. Our hands were intertwined with each other and we both had a happy smile on our faces.

"Sorry that I was blubbering so much before. My mum always said that I was allot more emotional than other guys," I said.

Dawn shook her head. "Us girls always want men who are more emotional than the dead sticks or arrogant asses. It allows us to connect more deeply with our partner."

"Well I'm glad for that. Wouldn't want you thinking I was weak for crying," I admitted shamefully.

"I would never think that Josh. It just means that you're alive," replied the red-haired goddess next to me. We were silent for a few more minutes.

"This was a good date," I said.

"Yeah, sure was," replied Dawn. "Too bad it's over now."

I looked at her which in turn, made her look at me. I grinned in a feral way, showing off my fangs. "Who said it was over? The best part is yet to come," I said in a super sexy growly voice. Her eyes widened slightly before a sensual grin settled on her luscious lips. However we were interrupted by three men who were walking down the road. They were heading for us. I sensed something off about them.

"Well well, looky here boys," said one. "It's the new Fire Guardian." I tensed as the other two laughed in an unpleasant way.

"Tell me how do you know that information?" I asked in a cold voice.

"Shall we give him our answer boys?" asked the first to the others. They responded by violently morphing into hideous, demonic forms. They looked like the Assault demons from Devil May Cry 4.

"I see, demons eh?" I asked Dawn. She nodded. "Seems they have infiltrated Konoha after all."

I summoned the thin sword from the watch device and activated the blade. I gripped the handle and positioned myself between them and Dawn. "Looks like I've got some work to do," I said as they charged me.

(Cue song D.M.C. [Band Ver.] by Takeshi Hama from Devil May Cry: The Animated Series OST)

I struck hard and fast. I brought my sword down hard onto the first one that came my way, only for the demon to guard with his shield on his arm. The two others came down on me but I just jumped up and charged the sword with Ki and swiped the sword at my first target, creating a thin, sharp blue shockwave that severed the Assault demon in half.

I glared at my next victim and charged in at blinding speeds. I shot a ball of Ki at the area below the second Assault, sending it into the air. I jumped after it and flowed a certain amount of Ki into my sword, making it corporeal. I hacked and slashed the Assault for a nine hit combo before calling out "**Flare Buster!**" and activating the Fire materia that I had taken earlier that day from White Requiem. I blasted several balls of fire into the demon, destroying it.

I landed back down to see the remaining Assault charging me. I deactivated the blade and sealed the handle back into its home. I flipped through several seals before calling out, "**Tekkai!**". My whole body became as hard as diamond. The Assault came down on me hard but it wasn't able to injure me at all. I grinned evilly before unleashing a devastating Taijutsu combo that shattered the Assault completely.

(Cue music silence)

With the fight finished I sighed before releasing the jutsu. This was the first time I had used the Tekkai jutsu and so far I was very impressed. It did require a large amount of chakra to activate and power the jutsu but it was well worth it. I turned around to see Dawn smiling at me. "Nice job!" she said.

"Why thank you, my lady. I'm glad you approve. Shall we?" I asked, offering her my arm, which she took and we continued to walk back to the Kitsune Manor.

* * *

***Sex Scene Activated ***

We got home quite late into the night; it was just after midnight. We silently made our way up to our bedroom, making sure we didn't make any noise to wake everyone up. But as soon as we reached our room and closed the door we pounced on each other. We immediately locked lips with each other. Our kiss was much more heated than any kiss we had before, filled with more passion and love. Our tongues were fiercely battling for dominance as our hands explored each other's bodies. My hands ran over her hips and up her bare back while hers explored my chest area. We had been having small intense make out sessions in the past two and a half months but this was the first time we had had sex since that night after I was named the Commander of the Kitsune Army and Lord of all Foxes. That's a long time to go without after your first taste. And I was ravenous for her. And by the looks of things, she was too.

Her hands tugged off my haori and black Kosode before she removed her gloved hands. She then ran them over my muscled chest. I then broke the kiss and she pouted a little before her eyes widened as I attacked one of the many g-spots I had found in our past make out sessions. This particular one was situated on the right side of her neck. I nibbled and sucked on that spot, making her moan loudly. As I continued my assault my hands moved down to her ass and began to kneed her soft behind.

"Oh god Josh! More!" she moaned out before she pressed her body closer to mine and began to grind her crotch against mine. I was already hard from the action but when she began to grind like that I began to moan myself; my dick hardening up more and more. I released her neck and her bum before reaching for the zipper to her dress and slowly unzipping it. When the zipper would go no further I pushed off the shoulder straps of the dress, letting the fabric flow down her body and pool at her feet. I saw that she had worn no bra and that her nipples were hard. Her breasts were nice and perky. I then bent down and removed her panties with an elongated claw thanks to a bit of youki flowing into that particular finger. I then rose up and placed my mouth next to her ear and said, "Keep everything else on. It's more sexy," in my super sexy growly voice. I felt her shiver at the sound. "Very well. But you're going all the way," she replied, trying and failing to keep the tremble out of her voice.

"As you wish, my lady," I said in the same tone. I then grasped the top of my Hakama and pushed them down along with my black boxers, revealing my nine inch, rock hard cock. I then pounced her, hoisting her up in the air so that her legs wrapped around my waist and that her pussy was directly under my throbbing member. I then plunged into her, gaining a scream of pleasure from Dawn and an intense groan from myself.

"You like that?" I asked against her ear, still in 'super sexy growly voice' mode.

Poor Dawn was speechless. It seemed that I was doing my job well. I then began to hoist her up and plunge her back down on my dick. This new position allowed my dick to brush her clitoris while reaching deep within her. I bounced her up and down, watching her face as she screamed and moaned. I gripped her thighs and sped up. I was thankful that I had the strength to pull this off. Tonight was all about pleasing Dawn.

I then began to rub the base of her tail which I knew was a huge g-spot for all vixens as Dawn told me at one point. It was almost as good as the clitoris. Dawn was now panting big time. Her tongue was lolling out of her mouth and her eyes were rolling back. I felt her walls clamp down on my dick but I withheld my own load. It was hard, so fucking hard, but as I said before, tonight was all about pleasing Dawn. And from the look on Dawn's face as she came all over my dick, I was doing very well. I then pulled out of her and carried her over to our bed. I placed her on her front on the bed and entered her pussy from behind. As I pumped at her I placed one hand on the base of her tail and the other on her right D-cup breast, massaging and rubbing both areas.

"OH! Oh! Oh God Yes! Yes! Harder! Harder Josh-koi!" Dawn screamed as I continued to plough into her. I had read about this position before. It was called the Standing Tiger / Crouching Dragon position. And it was great. I was hitting her vagina g-spot with every thrust and Dawn was shaking uncontrollably with pleasure, if her ecstasy screaming was anything to go by. Her long tail wrapped around my right upper thigh and began to constrict and loosen over and over. I continued, longer and longer, holding back my own release as I pounded into Dawn from behind.

By now she had had about 8 orgasms. I was feeling immensely proud of myself that I had the strength to not only keep at it for this long, but to not release myself. The feeling each time she orgasmed was simply more than enough to make me explode inside of her, but I knew that for the ninth and final orgasm of the night was when I would release myself, giving her an even bigger orgasm that would, hopefully, send her blasting into pleasure orbit. I sped up, getting myself ready to cum in time with her ninth orgasm. Dawn was still screaming, her tongue lying still on the bed sheets and her ruby eyes literally glowing with pleasure. I felt her walls clamp down on me again and I knew that this was the moment I was waiting for. I picked her up and we returned to the position from before. I began to thrust violently in and out of her while Dawn screamed uncontrollably.

"You... ready for the... biggest... fucking... orgasm... you've ever... had?" I asked her, concentrating very hard on even getting the words out of my mouth. Dawn just moaned incoherently.

I listened as Dawn's voice peaked before I roared loudly and exploded inside her, making her scream even more as her ninth climax exploded with me. The orgasm was so intense, I felt like all the energy in my body was leaving me with the massive tidal wave of spunk that flowed from my loins. By the time I was finished, I couldn't do anything but hold onto my vixen for dear life. My body felt heavy; my balls emptier than each sake bottle Tsunade would drink. Our juices mixed and spilled out of her into the floor. I then collapsed onto the bed with Dawn next to me. We were still sexually connected but I didn't care. All my stamina was gone and I quickly slipped into a blissful, dreamless sleep. But not before I muttered three words.

"Best... date... EVER!"

***Sex Scene Deactivated***

* * *

(AN: Review guys! And girls! And any good demons out there who are reading my work!)


	13. Chapter 13: Moving House

**Chapter 13: Moving House**

The first sensation of the new day was a pair of soft lips pressing themselves against my own. Without opening my eyes I responded to the kiss and brought my arms up to circle around my lover and press her naked body against mine. I felt her breasts press into my chest, her legs as they tucked themselves around my own and her tail curling together with my tail.

We separated and I finally opened my eyes to gaze into the ruby red irises of my significant other. I smiled. "This beats being woken up by an alarm clock any day," I murmured.

"I bet," Dawn responded back. I then sat up, Dawn sitting up with me and we surveyed our surroundings. Judging by the light streaming through the window, I guessed it was roughly 8:00 in the morning. I reached over to pick up my iPhone off the dressing table and pressed the Home button.

"Yep, 8:13," I said before getting out of bed. Dawn did the same, not caring that she was completely naked. I took a moment to study her. This was the third time I had seen her naked but the first two times I was too busy with other matters to fully see her body. Smooth peach skin covered every inch of her. Her legs were long and very well toned; the best set of legs I had ever seen. Her womanhood was completely void of any pubic hair and it seemed natural. I guessed that any body hair went to the tail. Flat stomach and a round, supple ass graced her midway, as her waist sloped inwards at a nice curve. Her breasts, a perky D-cup, round and beautiful, were so perfect that the only reason she wore a bra in the first place was to stop her nipples from poking through her shirt. Long, elegant arms; hands that with just one touch could wash away any worries I had. Finally my eyes rested on her face. I had no need to study this area as I saw it every waking moment now. And I wouldn't have it any other way. Silky crimson hair cascaded down her back in gentle waves, passed her waist and ended at her shins. By now it seemed that she had caught me checking her out and she had a sexy smile on her lips, her blood ruby irises sparkling.

"Seems someone's happy this morning," she commented as her eyes flickered downward for a long moment. I looked down to see that junior was well awake and wanted to say good morning. I grinned back. "Well I'm sure you can take care of this while we're washing up from last night."

Dawn moaned at the memory of the activities we indulged ourselves in last night. "I can't believe what we did last night. I must've cummed at least five times. I can't remember the exact amount."

"Actually it was nine times," I said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Is that so?" she replied in an amazed tone of voice. "I don't think I've ever had one of those before."

"I don't think anyone in the history of all the universes in known existence has had one. I'm just immensely proud of myself that I was able to do all that and not release until the very end. It's nice I made a record with you in at least something," I replied.

"I dunno," said Dawn, putting her hand on her chin as she thought. "I've known a couple of demons who are real sex fanatics. They probably would've done something like this before. There's something else you've made a record for as well."

"Oh?" I said, cocking my head to the side slightly. Dawn smiled serenely. "Yes. You're my first true love."

"Woah! Really?" I asked, completely stunned. I thought she would've at least had at least a few old flames in the past.

She nodded. "I did have sex as I have sexual urges too. But I never built onto a lasting relationship with anyone. I was too afraid of feeling the loss of that bond when they eventually died while I continued to live."

"I see."

"There were a few nice guys that I wouldn't mind settling down with, but I never felt what I now feel for you," she spoke from the heart.

I smiled in response to her words. "That gets me right here," I placed my hand on my chest where my heart was located. "I'll always be here for you." She nodded before walking over to me and giving me a nice long kiss. Unlike the one we shared last night, this one was a simple kiss, but expelled a deep love which I matched. When we separated I simply sunk to the ground with a dreamy, mushy smile plastered all over my face.

"Josh?" Dawn asked with worry laced into her words. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," I replied in an equally dreamy voice. "You just turned me into jelly." She giggled softly before I stood up again. "C'mon. We need to get ready for midday. That's when Ken's arriving to merge the two buildings together. And I promised that we would all go out for raman afterwards."

* * *

After the shower where I nearly came out more dirty than going in, I checked my iPhone to see who was in the house. Currently the twins and Zabuza were in the house, but Haku wasn't. I then focused of a picture of a fox in my mind and streamed youki into my hand before slapping the hand on the ground. An array of seals spread out on the ground. Similar to a summoning seal circle but a lot more complicated since I was summoning something with youki. There was a small puff of smoke and there, under my hand, was a familiar black and white furred, golden eyed fox. I removed my hand from his head and he looked up at me, smiling with his snub face.

"Rex?" I asked, remembering the little kit I had met the day I became Lord of Foxes.

"You remember me Mister Commander, sir!" he replied in the same uber cute voice that I remembered.

"Of course I remember you Rex," I smiled as I picked him up so that he was at face level with me. "Now what's up?" I asked.

"Well, the council of the Kitsune Village wanted you to have a familiar with you to act as a representative for the council. I got chosen for the job!" he explained while gesturing with his small paws, making him even cuter than before. I was now beginning to see exactly why the Fire Dynamo's wife tries to suffocate Tora all the time. I felt like doing the same to the little kit in front of me. I restrained myself with great difficulty. "So you're like a mascot?" I asked.

Rex thought about that for a moment. "Yeah! I guess I am. And if not, then it doesn't matter. I like the idea of being a mascot for you. It sounds way better than 'Representative of the Kitsune Council'."

"That it does," I said as I plopped him on my head and walked out of the bedroom. "So what does a 'Representative of the Kitsune Council' do, exactly?" I asked. Here Rex looked a little uncomfortable. "Well I was chosen to keep tabs on you by Mister Sabot. I don't like him."

"How come?"

"He's not a very nice kitsune. My dad calls him a scoundrel and something called a warmonger," replied Rex.

I sighed. "Seems like wherever you go, there's always one of those in every council."

"Huh?"

"Never mind. So, are you going to do it?" I asked.

"Well I don't want to, but orders are orders. I have no choice," he replied, not sounding very happy about it.

"So then, why are you telling me this?"

"Well, Mister Sabot didn't tell me to not tell you about my orders," he replied. I got the feeling that he was grinning as he said this.

"Nice!" I replied. I then got a brilliant idea. "By the way, did Councillor Sabot say anything about not telling him the whole truth?"

"No, he didn't. You're really smart Mister Commander, sir," replied Rex.

"Yes, you're really starting to think like a fox," said Dawn as she joined us heading to the kitchen where everyone was at. She wore a white strap shirt with a white waterfall cardigan over the top, white summer skirt, black stockings and black leather boots. She looked very beautiful. Especially with her rich red hair falling in lovely long waves down her back. Black ribbons were tied into her hair.

"Why thank you," I replied. "And you're looking especially beautiful today. Like an angel with all that white." I stepped toward her and gave her a loving kiss. She smiled into the kiss.

"I'm glad you like it," she replied when we separated.

"Like it? I love it!" I replied enthusiastically. "Anyways Rex, I need you to do something for me."

"What's that?"

"How good are you with the Henge?" I asked.

"I'm the best in my class," replied the little fox.

"Uhh," I began before Dawn explained. "For a kit his age, his Henge will be on par with most Jōnins around here. Kitsune's take their Genjutsu classes very seriously."

"I see. Well then I need you to change into a regular kid and run me a message to someone. Need to tell Haku we're moving house at midday today, and that he should get his ass back ASAP so he knows where we are."

"Ok. What does he look like?" asked Rex.

"Well he looks like a girl, very feminine. Smells like ice... if ice smells at all," I described.

"Ok Mister Commander!" he said before jumping off my head and landing safely on the floor. He was just about to take off when I remembered something. "Hang on a sec! If you spot a feminine guy with white eyes and no pupils, then it's not him."

"Gotcha!" he replied before he puffed into a kid of roughly 5 years old with short, black hair, golden eyes and a permanent kiddie grin plastered to his face to blend in. He then took off about as fast as a normal civilian kid his age could.

"Well, I'm going to make some breakfast! Who wants my famous chicken noodle omelette?" I grinned.

"I do!" Dawn said enthusiastically with her hand in the air like a school kid wanting to show off his knowledge to the teacher and class.

* * *

"Ok," I said as everyone gathered round. "It's time to fill you in on a few things. You know who I really am, but now it's time to tell you who this body actually belonged to. Dawn and Trunks already know so it's just you four." I looked at Zabuza, Haku, Meizu and Gozu.

"This body belonged to a boy called Uzumaki Naruto. Originally he had Dawn sealed inside him. However most, if not all, of the older generation knew that Naruto carried this burden and so from the time he was kicked out of the orphanage at 3 to the time he began his ninja training at age 10, he was hunted down and beaten at regular intervals." There was a shocked gasp from Haku, and to a point, from Meizu and Gozu. Only Zabuza stayed silent as he probably had some idea of the treatment that Jinchūrikis get.

"Three months ago, Naruto was attacked for the first time in three years. The attack somehow separated Naruto's soul from his body and while the soul ascended to heaven, his body was left behind to deteriorate against Dawn's youki. For without a will to hold back the energy, the body was a ticking disaster of epic proportions waiting to happen. If I hadn't been selected and placed inside this body, it would've exploded and taken nearly half of Fire country with it, and the fallout would of effected everyone in the Elemental Countries." There were shocked faces from all four this time.

"Now comes the final stretch. Do you know anything about Konoha's Forth Hokage?" There were nods all round. "Well, Minato had a child with a woman named Kushina. This child was used in sealing Dawn. Naruto's full name is Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto." I then held up my phone. "This device allows me to connect with dead spirits in heaven and talk to them. I talked to Minato when we got back from Wave and he allowed me to inherit the Namikaze compound and all their assets. Now Ken, the god of this world and the one who put me inside this body, is coming over to move this house and merge it with the Namikaze compound. This is happening at midday. He prefers to be addressed in a casual way so just treat him like you would an ordinary person, if you can."

"Wow," said Zabuza. "Never a dull day with you, huh?"

"Yep, and it's only going to get wackier," I said before the door chime sounded through the house. "I'm sure that's Ken right now," I said as I got up and walked over to the door. I opened it and there, standing in front of me, was the same monk-like man I had met back on earth.

"Hey Ken! Come on in!" I said familiarly. He smiled. "Josh, good to see you again!" he replied as he walked inside. He looked around the place. "I love what you've done with the place," he said.

"Thanks. Everyone is inside here," I said as I led the way into the lounge room. As soon as we walked through, everyone was on their feet and bowing to our new guest.

"It's alright everyone, you can stand up straight," said Ken in a slightly amused voice. Everyone hesitated before complying and sat back down. Dawn then walked over and embraced Ken, kissing him once on the cheek. "It's good to see you again," she said.

Ken did the same on Dawn's cheek. "Likewise Kyuubi. Or is it Dawn now?" he asked.

"Yes, it's Dawn," replied the vixen.

"Good name. I trust you've been well?"

"Never better." Ken looked at me out of the corner of his eyes before smiling and rubbing his hands together. "Well, shall we get to it?"

* * *

We now all stood outside the Kitsune Manor, waiting for Ken to finish surveying the grounds. He walked around a corner and met up with us.

"This will be an easy transfer and merger," said the god before he spread his hands out and they began to glow brightly. In response the whole house did the same before vanishing, as if it were never built there in the first place.

We then trekked over to where the rich housing area was. The area where the Hyuga's and other rich clans built their compounds. And so it was that we came across the Namikaze compound. In terms of size, the compound was about the same size as the Kitsune Manor was.

"Ok, I assume you want to keep the characteristics of the Kitsune Manor and spread them all over the new compound?" Ken asked.

"Inside anyways. But the outside can be different," I replied.

"Any preferences?" asked Ken.

"Hmm," I hummed to myself as I tried to think of a building to base the design off. "Something of French design would be nice," I replied.

"Ok, here we go!" he said before again, spreading his hands out and they began to glow. The house then disappeared before a much larger and more expansive building took its place. The glow faded and we gaped in astonishment.

(AN: I really can't be bothered describing a mansion. So I'll just tell you what it basically looks like in terms of architecture only as the new house has up to 40 bedrooms including the master bedroom on the top floor. It looks like The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise resort hotel, located at Banff National Park in Canada. Look up pictures on the home page)

"Wow! It looks awesome!" I breathed. The entrance was guarded by two humanoid foxes with exotic white metal armour and ceremonial broadswords. As I immediately walked toward the front door they smiled and bowed to me.

"Welcome home, my Lord," they both said respectfully. I turned to Ken questioningly.

"Those two are warrior kitsune angels charged with protecting you and these premises. They're under your direct command," the god explained.

"Cool! What are your names?" I asked.

The one on the left, who had familiar black spiky hair, bowed and replied, "My name is Zack."

"And my name is Cloud," replied the one on the right, who had Cloud's extra spiky hair too.

I blinked. "Ok then. Carry on then." They nodded and pushed open the doors.

Inside looked the same as the entrance hall for the Kitsune Manor, but was now larger. The winged vixen marble statue fountain was still there, but now that I looked at it, she looked like the statue of Nike, the Greek goddess of Victory, that was displayed at the Louvre in Paris. Only my statue looked much better as it was a winged vixen. Plus this statue had her head on while the Nike statue didn't.

I dashed upstairs to see 40 bedrooms lining the second floor, all with private bathrooms. Then I jumped up the stairs further to see the master bedroom. Now the bedroom and bathroom were all in the same room. There was now a massive spa bath big enough for ten plus me. As well as a huge shower for the same amount of people to stand in and have a shower. I then dashed back down to the ground level and took in all the sights. Everything was the same as the Kitsune Manor, just simply bigger to accommodate the new people living here in the future.

I ducked into the back yard and was blown away by how expansive it was. Big enough to host a 150+ party comfortably. There was a large pool in the middle with rough stones and rocks surrounding it, giving it the illusion of a natural onsen. At the far end there was a wide and tall waterfall feature which the warm water splashed directly and indirectly into the pool. Directly under the waterfall were three thin rock spires with several square rock tiles stacked in a corner. Obviously they were used to balance in meditation on top of the stone spires. I felt myself looking forward to doing that.

In front of the pool there was a large circular white and black chessboard like marble dance floor. Around the dance floor there were plenty of tables and chairs to sit down on. And all around were various marble statues of winged foxes, dragons, winged wolves, weasels and falcons.

To the side of the dance floor was an expansive bar setup. The counter and shelves looked to be made out of well polished hardwood. The stools looked reasonably comfortable. And on the shelves were all the liquors and spirits I could name from Earth and then some. It looked like there were several types native to these lands. There was a large shelf dedicated to all the Sake found in the Elemental Nations. This was a very welcome sight.

I wasn't big on drinking myself, but for the past 10 years before coming here I had worked as a bartender and had become quite good at my job. I also loved doing it. I had picked up quite a few tricks like spinning bottles and mixing cocktails with great flourish to keep the customers interested. There wasn't a job I liked more on Earth. And so I was excited at the prospect of serving my friends well made drinks when they came to visit.

There were also beer taps and a large fridge full of red and white wine. And finally there was a strange fridge like box that looked only big enough to put one of the largest bottles I could see, a wine bottle, inside. I dismissed the sight, remembering to look into that later.

But it was when I got to the lounge room that I received the biggest, and most welcome surprise of all. All the couches and chairs were still there, but against the wall was a huge LCD TV. 64 inches at least. It was a Sony one too. Hooked up to it was a Sony MuTeKi 7.4 surround sound system and most importantly, a white slim PS3, black slim Xbox 360, black Wii and a large stack of games and movies!

"WHOO HOO!" I yelled with excitement. There was a rush of feet as everyone ran into the room, startled by my cries. I paid them no heed as I was busy cackling excitedly while flipping through the games.

"Gran Turismo 5! Naruto: Storm 1 and 2! Guitar Hero 5! DDR! Final Fantasy Verses 13! Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 1, 2 and 3! Halo Series! Super Smash Bros. Brawl!" I yelled out in happiness. They were all my games from back home and more.

"Uh... Josh. Are you alright?" asked Dawn.

"Absolutely! Never better!" I replied before I saw another game, but this one had me cocking my head to the side. "What's this? Ultimate Ninja Celestial Storm?"

"That's a special game there," said Ken as he sat near me on a chair. "This has the story and characters of your story in it. And when something new happens, like someone developing a new super jutsu, that jutsu is added automatically as a new ultimate jutsu to use in the game."

"Wooooowww!" I said, my fingers already itching to play the game. I then took a deep breath and put the game down. "I can play this later. Right now, we're getting together for lunch!"

"Oh yeah!" said Zabuza, who was a little hungry.

"OK everyone! Let's go over to Ichiraku's!" I said and we all crowded out of the house.

* * *

"And that's what's happened so far," I finished up before cramming another large chopstick helping of noodles into my mouth.

"I see," replied Ken, chewing thoughtfully on a piece of meat. "Any you mentioned creating a Swordsman group, right?"

"That's right! At the moment there's Trunks, Dawn, Zabuza and myself in the group."

"And I'm guessing you want all the swords to be special, like the Seven Swordsman of the Mist's swords," asked Ken.

"Yeah," I nodded. "My swords are quite unique and are also almost polar opposites. One's big and obvious and the others thin and stealthy. Zabuza's is also big but has an unreal shape to it. Trunks is pretty standard but I have no idea of what it's capable of-"

"It's made of Yautjavian and is forged down to a monomolecular edge, creating an unbelievably sharp edge. The sheath is an entrance to a small dimension for even a manometer in either direction will cause the sheath to be cut. The metal itself is physically weaker than several other metals and so I can never use it to block. So it's an offensive only weapon," explained Trunks.

"There you go! Another unique weapon. And Dawn's sword is... is... actually," I turned to look at her as she was currently slurping up her noodles, leaving a bit of meat stuck to her chin. I plucked it off her and pushed it into her mouth. In turn she sucked on my fingers sensually, making me hard but thankfully my pants were nice and loose. After she finished I continued with the question. "I don't think I've ever seen the sword you spoke of."

Dawn's response was to hop of her stool, do several hand seals and place her hand onto the ground, like what you would do for a summoning jutsu. However instead of a summoning seal spreading out from her hand, a dark red and black round puddle spread to about 30 cm in diameter. Then a handle of a sword poked out of the puddle and Dawn grasped the handle. She pulled it out and I gasped at how beautiful it looked. So entranced I was that I didn't notice the puddle disappear.

The sword was in a straight edged ninjato styled shape. The handle and sheath looked to be made out of crystal. The colour went from red at the end of the handle and quickly changed through amethyst purple to a sapphire blue where the handle ended and the sheath began. On the sheath was the opposite but the gradient changes were much longer to accommodate the length of the sheath. Curiously there was also a small, almost invisible latch on both sides keeping the sword in its sheath. The total length seemed to be pushing 60 inches; longer than a typical katana. It was more in the range of being a nodachi in terms of length.

"May I have a look at that?" asked Ken. Dawn nodded and handed the sword to the god. He inspected the sword with an expert eye, eventually unclipping the small latches and pulled the sword out a few inches. The layers of metal had been flawlessly fused together, making the blade look like one whole piece of metal, and had been polished to perfection. It also gave off an otherworldly feeling. Strangely, the blade was 2 inches wide.

"I say! This is one rare sword you have Dawn," said Ken in an awed voice. "The sheath is made of Ultima Crystal, the hardest known element in existence. Even with other gods. The blade is made of the same material Shinigami use in their swords, known as Soul metal. The metal is used to fashion blades that can cut away a person's soul from their body without harming the body as well as to combat and slay demons known as Hollows that appear in other worlds. Not this one," he added when he saw my face. "The sword is almost as sharp as well forged Yautjavian but is also very strong so it can be used for defensive moves and parries too."

"Wow! I had no idea. So what are the latches for?" asked Dawn.

"I would imagine so the sword will stay in the sheath while you use the whole thing for clubbing people over the head for. Like I said, Ultima Crystal is the strongest element ever known. You can use it to block anything," explained Ken.

"Awesome!" I grinned.

"That really is an amazing sword Dawn," said Zabuza.

"For sure!" said both twins.

"Hmm, maybe I should get a sword myself," wondered Haku out loud.

"Tell you what Haku, I'll summon Shiva sometime and she can teach you more ice jutsus. Who knows, she might be able to teach you how to create a nice strong ice sword jutsu," I suggested.

"Thank you Josh-sama," Haku said respectfully.

"There's no need to call me -sama. You're part of my clan and while, yes, the clan is under my guidance and I would be considered the head of the clan, everyone is still equal, in terms of respect and status. However, I do ask you to let me know first before you do anything that involves the clan or the main house, which we'll call the Kitsune Chateau from now onwards. Things like telling people what clan you're in and stuff like that. People are eventually going to find out who you are and where we all live at but I'm going to hold off on that until I achieve Tokubetsu Jōnin or higher. At that point I'll be able to legally change my name and gain the Namikaze seat on the council which I'll then change to Kitsune." I then turned to Trunks. "Would you be willing to be my representative for the Kitsune clan on the council if I'm unavailable?"

Trunks smiled and nodded sharply. "It would be my pleasure, as long as you don't make a habit of not turning up."

"Course not. I know council meetings are important. Of course I'll have to watch out for Danzo as he's the real threat on the council, trying to make me into a weapon so he can use me and my Jinchūriki powers. Course I'm not a Jinchūriki anymore."

"And I'll continue to monitor Mister Sabot for you Mister Commander," said Rex who was plopped on my head.

"And I'll continue to use you genjutsu powers in the future. They are very well developed and I need someone like you on my team. I'm not so good on genjutsus myself," I confessed.

"It would be my honour to help you out Mister Commander!" replied Rex.

"Good on ya kit!" I grinned. At that point Kakashi walked inside.

"Hey Kakashi! What's up?" I asked.

"Business this time. The Hokage asked me to give you this," said Kakashi as he handed me an elegant scroll. "It's his reply to Tazuna's request for Wave country to be inducted into Fire country as well as the contract."

"I see. Thanks," I replied. He nodded, smiled and waved goodbye before backing out of the stall and was on his way once again. I smiled at his retreating form before focusing on an important messenger type fox before doing the summoning jutsu. What appeared was a knee height, four tailed, chocolate brown haired vixen with a small pack attached to her back.

"Reimi, reporting for duty Commander!" she said, sitting on her haunches and saluting me.

"I need you to deliver this important notice to Tazuna of Wave Country. You will be needed for a reply so feel free to stay at Tazuna's place until that point. When you receive the answer, you are to carry his reply straight to Hiruzen, the Hokage. Understand?"

"Sir!" Reimi saluted again before I bent down and slipped the scroll inside the pack. As soon as it was secured the vixen placed her front paws together and simply disappeared.

"Huh?" I looked around but there was no sign of the brown vixen. "What just happened?"

"Most likely Reimi just teleported to a point outside the village before continuing on foot. Konoha ninja would be more than a little suspicious if they saw a brown four-tailed fox running through the streets," explained Trunks.

"Ahh, I see," I replied. I then leaned over the counter to look at Ken, who was finishing up. "So, you were asking about my swordsman group?"

"Yes, I was just going to say that I would be happy to supply you with swords for each future member of your group. Just let me know who they are and what you would think would be a good sword for them and I'll make them," replied Ken.

"Man Ken, thanks a bunch!" I replied. A thought then occurred to me and I looked at Ken suspiciously. "Why are you so helpful? Don't gods like you have rules for interfering?"

Ken sighed. "I knew this question was coming. Just didn't think I would have to answer it so soon. Yes, we gods do have rules to not directly interfere in our creations. We are simply observers and for better or worse, we cannot do anything to help those in the physical realm. I created the Juubi 10,000 years ago after a horrible war that almost wiped out all humanity. Mankind is roughly 20,000 years old. The first half of their history they evolved technologically to the stage where they could create personal man-made dimensions for training purposes. I believe you have been using one such room already?" I nodded. "Well after the war the humans were so devastated at what they had done, they erased all mention of the war so that their children would grow up without this knowledge."

"It was my hope that the Juubi would interfere when anything bad would happen, for example, another huge war. But that idea was almost ruined when he went berserk for no apparent reason 7,000 years ago. I only have theories on how that happened. I was able to salvage the situation thanks to the Sage of the Six Paths, Samasuki. I positioned the new guardians around the Elemental Countries and hoped that all would be well. But it was not so. Several wars broke out; some larger than others. A few of the guardians were sealed inside objects or humans because of the desire to make living weapons of mass destruction. And then the attack on Naruto was the worst, as if left alone, would result in the entire world brought to the brink of extinction from the after effects of the ensuing explosion."

Ken paused to drink some of his tea before continuing. "However, as dire as the situation was, I saw this as an opportunity to change my world. Something like this has never happened before, so this scenario was outside of any rules and boundaries. I realised that if another soul was brought in from outside my construct, then I could shape the world indirectly through the soul." Here he turned to me. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you this the first time we met. I planned on telling you much later when you were much stronger than you are now. That's why I'm helping you so much. I do so, because you are outside the rules. And thus I am able to push the world onto the right path. I know that war is unavoidable with two opposing ideals but I truly think that, with your help, I can stop that from happening to this world I created."

I sighed. "You know that to get to that point, war is inevitable. Madara isn't going to simply roll over for me."

"I realise that. But I truly believe that you can avoid more bloodshed than if I just let this go. I really think that you can make a difference. You've already started to. I have the ability to clearly see the future of the world and your presence has shifted the future towards the light end of the scale. Madara must be stopped."

I closed my eyes for a long moment. I felt very heavy all of a sudden, as if the very future of the world rested with me. Hell, it did already! I then felt two hands place themselves on my shoulders and I opened my eyes to see Dawn and Trunks smiling at me.

"You're not alone in this," said Dawn.

"Yeah. We'll stand with you whatever happens. And so will the Kitsune army," said Trunks.

"Thanks you guys," I said thickly before turning to Ken. "Very well. Is there any specific direction you want the world to go towards?"

Ken smiled. "No. You can choose for yourself. As long as it's nothing extremely destructive like world domination through war or something like that."

"Ok. By the way. How much land does the Elemental Countries take up in this world?" I asked.

"About 4/5 of the land. There are a few outlying countries on the edges. This world is small. Definitely not as big as Earth," informed Ken.

"Great!" I said, grinning once again. I then glanced at Dawn. "Any chance you could make Dawn's new body now?"

Ken nodded before clicking his fingers. A body appeared out of thin air and floated down onto the ground. It looked exactly like Dawn. Even the ears and tail were there. And the body was clad in the same clothes Dawn was wearing right now. Then Ken reached forward and placed his hand on top of Dawn's head. Dawn poofed out of existence and what was left was a red, pulsing ball of energy and the Calibur crystal that previously housed Dawn's soul. Ken then pressed the red energy into Dawn's new head and waited. After several seconds the body took a deep breath and the eyes opened, showing red irises, full of life. Dawn stood up and the first thing she did was to wrap her arms around me and give me a passionate kiss. I was blown away by how real it felt and how warm her body was. The faux body made by combining the Calibur crystal and some Youki was a good construct but nothing could beat the real thing.

"Hello there beautiful," I said after we separated.

"Hello yourself handsome," she replied. She then turned to Ken and bowed her head. "Thank you Ken."

"Not a problem my dear," he replied before standing up. "Sorry but I need to be getting back to the office. Lunch was great. I'll see you all soon. Remember to call on me for anything that you think will help in the development of this world."

"Hold on a sec. There's one more thing I'd like to ask you. You see I'm prone to ad libbing sometimes and I always like it when people laugh at my jokes. That's a problem here as no-one knows the material I get my jokes from. So I was wondering if you could at least copy my knowledge of these things and put them in the minds of my clan members. Is this alright?"

Ken smiled. "Of course. That's easy. And laughter is always good." He then placed his hand onto my head for a few seconds and then went around and repeated the same gesture on everyone of my clan members, even Rex. After each one went through this, they all looked a little different.

"Damn! You sure have a good amount of entertainment where you're from," said Zabuza.

I decided to test it and said, "It's time to kick ass and chew bubblegum. And I'm all out of gum." The response was everyone grinning.

"Duke Nukem right?" asked Dawn. I grinned back. "Awesome! It worked!"

"Well if that's all, I'll see you or hear from you later," said the god. But he paused. "Oh! That's right. I almost forgot. The house is powered by seals. Hot water, electricity, heat, everything. Recharging the seals takes place at one spot, in the basement. The max you can recharge it is one complete tail's worth of youki or chakra. I've filled it up for you and that should last you for a year."

"Thanks Ken. Does that mean that the house, in terms of energy, is completely separate from the Konoha's power grid?" I asked.

"That's right," Ken replied. "See you soon." He then vanished.

"So now what?" asked Zabuza.

"Well the Chunin Exams will be coming up within a month so we just go about our daily lives before I'll fill you in on the next set of developments," I replied before removing money from my wallet and placing the notes on the counter. "I trust you heard all that?"

"Yeah, and just so you know, we're also behind you Josh," replied Teuchi, smiling.

"Yeah Josh. We're sticking with you to the end!" added Ayame.

I smiled. "Thank you Ayame, Teuchi. See ya later!"

"Come back soon, ya hear Josh!" called Teuchi as I and the rest of the clan exited the raman stand.

* * *

AN: Read and Review ladies and gentlemen. Tell me your thoughts.


	14. Chapter 14: Meeting the Suna Gang

**Chapter 14: Meeting the Suna Gang**

(Cue song Life Is On You by Kenji Fujii; Suble from Devil May Cry: The Animated Series OST)

The next month was relaxed as I counted down the days to the Chunin Exam. I made a point to enjoy the peace we had before the exams began. There would be no time for relaxing when Orochimaru was around. There wasn't much in the way of missions for Team 7; mostly D-ranks. And so I had quite a lot of free time.

At first I dedicated some time to explore the Kitsuné Chateau more thoroughly. In each bedroom there was a small touch screen panel that controlled what song could be played in the room and a mic connected to the PA system.

Then there was a cool looking conference room with a modern look to it. A long table straight out of the conference area on the Fury-class Imperial Transport from the game Star Wars: The Old Republic was in the centre of the room, with fixed, comfortable swivel chairs; enough to seat 50 people. At one end there was an extra fancy and comfortable chair, obviously meant for me. On the opposite wall was a huge screen. After asking Ken, I found out that it was meant to connect to people who were dead. So if I wanted to include Minato and the other past Hokages then it was simply a matter of setting a date and time before using my iPhone to make the connection. It was quite neat.

The few times I had seen the outside of my Kitsuné Chateau, I never checked out the roof much at all. But I discovered that the roof was flat and was accessible. When I walked up on top I was amazed at what I saw. Half the roof was taken up by a large Infinity pool that stretched along almost the entire length with the 'edge' facing the sprawling city of Konoha and the front lawn. On the other side were tables, chairs and deckchairs.

I played a bit of the unique game that Ken made; Ultimate Ninja Celestial Storm. It was interesting watching and listening to myself as my cell shaded avatar made his way around the game world. Most story relevant things I said in the real world was recorded and uploaded straight to the game. Even my conversations were exactly alike. I was thankful that some of the more explicit experiences were not included in the game.

The story mode had two special modes: Clone and Anime. Clone was completely accurate in everything. But Anime was slightly different. The conversations were the same but reactions were more anime styled, such as face-faulting or anime expressions like the line eyes and mouth. It was very humorous. Since I was the main character in the game, all the jutsus I knew were executable by my avatar. Along with my summons, however only Shiva and Slipstream were available but the summons were useable either as powerful Ultimate Jutsu like moves or weaker moves for Support. Their Ultimate Jutsu moves could also be linked with the characters like in Storm 2. They still looked kick ass!

Aside from the story, there was the standard verses mode. There were many characters to choose from, almost 40 so far. I had a feeling that the more people I met, the more characters would be added. And all had their unique fighting style and Ultimate Jutsus. If this was designed to update in real-time, then soon the new info would expand beyond the one disk, however I had another feeling that this disk was special. That there was no limit to how much it could hold.

Along with that the soundtrack was completely customisable in the fact that I could upload tracks from my iPhone and use the tracks for the soundtrack. For example, I could upload the song Duel of the Fates from Star Wars Episode I and have it play while Madara Uchiha dukes it out with me in verses. It was awesome. Of course I messed around and played You Sexy Thing by T-Shirt when Sasuke and Orochimaru are fighting on screen. I had a stitch by the time Orochimaru clobbered Sasuke on the COM vs COM option.

But by far the funniest option there was on the game was the sheer amount of outfits each character could be outfitted with. I tell you after watching Sasuke in Gai's green leotard and Kabuto in a tutu beating the snot out of each other, you will be giggling and snorting with laughter for the rest of the day.

(Cue song ARMED WITH VALOR by Keiki Kobayashi from Soul Calibur III Original Soundtrack)

After checking out the Chateau, I realised that I should be working on my skills instead of lounging around. So training was amped up significantly. Not just for Team 7, but for the whole Kitsuné clan too. Dawn and I worked hard on attaining the first tail of Youki fully, which involved meditation and focusing the youki inside our bodies. Zabuza worked on shaping his swordplay style around his new sword until Dawn joined in after she had gain the first tail. Her style of swordplay was fast and very acrobatic; making as many small cuts as possible and dodging any attack thrown at her. But there was a few powerful sword strikes as finishers. Trunks worked on his swordplay as well, which concentrated on speed, agility and offensive strikes, like Dawn's style, but more traditional.

Haku worked with Shiva to improve her ice jutsu and Shiva taught Haku a few tricks. One involved coating the feet with ice and skating over flat surfaces while using chakra to control speed, turning power and traction. The twins worked on their cat claw weapons and Taijutsu, which they were lacking in skill.

After I finished attaining the first tail I began to work on the Rasengan, Hiraishin and my new jutsu. Well, more improved than new. Thanks to having more access to Youki I was able to ante up the Kage Bunshin. Creating a clone using youki took much less energy than using chakra. And the clone was much stronger, able to take up to 5 solid hits before dispersing. And since they took less energy to create, more could be made. Plus the more energy that goes into the clone, the more stronger and powerful it becomes instead of simply overloading the clone. And so the Neo Kage Bunshin no Jutsu was created. From there the Legion Clone Squad jutsu was created. Creating a five clone squad with a supercharged clone for added intelligence and power to act as an independent thinking Capitan, so to speak. Therefore the Capitan clone was able to think up new strategies on the fly in case there's a problem. Finally, the Neo Clones were good for one more thing. Since they were much stronger than Kage Bunshin, they could stand up to a heavy amount of sex. Dawn had tried it out and was very satisfied with the results, saying that the clone had lasted all the way through. And thanks to the memories that I gleaned from the dispelled clone, I knew that Dawn had put the clone through some rough stuff. Of course as soon as I found this out I was hard almost instantly and had to duck into an alley to adjust myself before going back into the open again.

Another thing I worked on was seals. In my exploration of the newly created Kitsuné Chateau, I discovered a basement that had all the previous contents of the basement underneath Minato's house. There was a large library of jutsus stashed there, as well as several experimental seals and notes on the Shiki Fujin. After looking at these experimental seals, I decided that I wanted to become a seals master like Minato and Jiraiya. So I assigned 50 or so clones to work on learning Fuuinjutsu while I stuck to working out the kinks in controlling youki. As the month crawled by I had learned several seals including storage and gravity seals. Storage seals were used for storing items in stasis inside a sheet of paper; great for hauling fresh food or pre-cooked meals for a long journey or large amounts of weapons. The gravity seals were painted on the body. Either they were painted on a specific body part or made to affect the whole being. The seals increased the gravity on the body to increase muscle mass, strength, speed and endurance. The increased gravity was localized to just the body so you wouldn't sink if you travelled in the desert or made a large crater if you fell from a reasonable height. The strength was easy customised with chakra and could be released easily with a handseal and, eventually, by thought. The seals themselves also blended perfectly with the skin, rendering themselves invisible until activated or deactivated, where they would flash black before disappearing once again.

Another seal I worked on was a special clan seal. It would allow entrance into the Kitsuné Chateau. It would have a special chakra marker that could only be tracked by my iPhone. And the seal would be linked with the user's health statistics. So if the member of my clan with a seal was suddenly wounded fatally, the seal would summon ten high class Kitsunés to either beat off the enemies before healing the clan member or simply transport them to the Kitsuné Chateau to be healed there. The seal was still incomplete as I would need Jiraiya's help on completing it.

I also practiced swordsplay with White Requiem and Hidden Avenger, the name I decided for the stealth sword. Even though the skills to wield these weapons was imbedded in them, I still practiced, if only to be assured that I could do all the moves.

If there was one thing I learned about my fighting style from watching my character in the Ultimate Ninja Celestial Hero game was that I was exceptionally quick and speedy in fighting, despite the size of my cleaver sword. I guess since I would be learning the Hiraishin and create any sub-jutsus from it, that I had to be speedy. Not that I minded. Speed and power was always my favourite combination. Speed to dance around the opponent and hit small crippling blows before taking them out with a powerful strike when they can no longer dodge or guard.

The last thing I trained was my focus by meditating under the waterfall out back while sitting on those stone tiles which were balanced on the central spire. Two Neo Clones were balancing on the other spires. It was hard work as in the beginning I used to fall off straight away. But slowly I grew accustomed to balancing myself. Then I got down to the job of actually meditating on top there. Immediately I realised that doing so made it easier to balance. It also helped me to be at peace with myself and my surroundings. While doing this I began to feel other chakra signatures. Even though I had shut my eyes, I could 'see' the signatures of everyone inside the Chateau. It was neat.

It was through this type of meditation that I and Dawn attained the first tail of youki. The fact of the matter was that we had all the energy already inside ourselves. Dawn had seven tails and I had nine. But the meditation was needed to gain focus on the energy so it could be used. Dawn told me that there was one or two Youki Control exercises, like Chakra Control exercises, to help with the higher stages.

Training for Team 7 was going good too. After mastering the Kunai Balancing stage of Chakra Control, Kakashi began to teach us a few jutsus. Sasuke stuck to fire jutsus such as Hosenka, **Ryūka** and improving on his **Gōkakyū** no Jutsu. He was having trouble mastering the **Ryūka** as it needed the Sharingan to execute perfectly.

Sakura learned a few genjutsus as chakra constructs like that were easy for her. I taught her the **Ninja Art: Snow Cherry Blossom Dance** from her Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3 avatar. It was a jutsu similar to the **Sakura Blizzard Jutsu** used in the first Naruto movie, which I also taught her. The **Snow Cherry Blossom Dance** involved Sakura binding her enemy in a genjutsu and proceeding to throw four small white bags at them filled with exploding tags, which are disguised as tiny, blank pieces of paper in the enemy's eyes. She then rips them open in midair by throwing kunai at them and the exploding tags begin to fall gently towards the target. Lastly, Sakura would aim a kunai with a final exploding tag attached to it at her opponent's feet and it would detonate, followed by the explosion of the other falling "tags". The jutsu had a 50/50 fatality rate.

Kakashi wasn't left out either. I went through a list of jutsu and taught him the **Lightning Strike Combo**, renamed from the **10-hit combo** that Lars Alexanderson used in Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2. I also taught him a few extensions of the Chidori that were created by Sasuke in the cannon story. These included **Chidori Current, Chidori Sharp Spear** and **Chidori: Thunder** from Ultimate Ninja 5. These techniques were trained away from the team, most of the time in the private Training Room which I included Kakashi in on the clan training sessions. I also taught Sasuke's finisher move, **Kirin** and Kakashi's own Ultimate Jutsu from Storm 1, **Lightning Blade: Double Lightning Quake**. This last one I showed to Kakashi in the Storm 1 game. He was incredibly impressed with it and got to work on the technique straight away.

Then came the day that Kakashi received confirmation of the Chunin Exam. And naturally he wanted us to participate. It happened after a training session.

(Cue music silence)

"Ok! That's all for today. And I think you're all ready," said Kakashi.

"What for?" asked Sakura as she ran over from practicing the genjutsu component of her new jutsu.

"For the Chunin Exam," replied Kakashi, eye grinning.

I shared a look with Dawn and Trunks and we all grinned. Sasuke smirked his usual cocky smirk. And Sakura, surprisingly, smiled, though a little nervously.

"By the looks on all your faces, it seems you're all ok with me submitting this team in. Is this right?" asked Kakashi, looking as Sakura specifically.

"Well," she replied. "We have been practicing hard and we know advanced chakra control techniques."

"That's right. Most Chunins don't know about the Kunai balancing technique. But I'm talking about survival here. The Chunin exam will test you to the extremes in some situations. You will be fighting other people, even foreign ninja. I need to know if you are all in 100% agreement to enter." Kakashi was making sure we didn't think we were in over our head.

"Kakashi," I said, gaining the attention of everyone around me. "Sasuke has been working on his fire jutsu extremely well. He's ready. And Sakura has come a long way since she first became a Genin. She's ready." Here Sakura smiled softly. A little encouragement was all she needed.

"And I know Dawn, Trunks and I are ready. So there you go," I finished up.

"But Dawn and Trunks aren't ninja," replied Kakashi, even though he knew better. He was just putting up a front for Sasuke and Sakura, plus any ROOT ninja that may be spying on us.

"Oh don't worry. They'll just be observing. I've gained the Hokage's permission for this," I explained. Which was a lie, but as soon as this was over I would go and ask him myself.

Kakashi seemed to catch onto this and nodded. "Very well. I'll go submit the necessary paperwork now. I'd suggest you relax for these last few days before the exam, which will happen in 7 days time. Ja Ne." With that Kakashi shunshined out of the area.

"So, you two ready?" I asked Sasuke and Sakura. The pink haired girl nodded. Sasuke simply smirked again in my direction. "Of course I am. But I should enter alone. You two would just slow me down."

Sakura looked depressed at this and I felt sympathy for her. Since she had witnessed the battle on the bridge she had become less of an annoying bitch and more responsible. I was thankful for this, for Sakura became a lot more mature by the time Shippuden came out. Here her change had already started and the new 'her' had already begun to emerge. She still was a Sasuke fan-girl, but she accepted me as a leader and was determined to keep up with Sasuke and me.

"Sasuke. I'm not in the mood to bare your ego flaunting today. Keep it up and you will regret it," I warned Sasuke.

"What could you do to me?" Sasuke asked arrogantly.

"Do you really want to know?" I asked.

"Bring it! Then I'll beat you and Dawn will see what a looser you are, therefore dumping you and becoming my woman!" sneered Sasuke.

"Very well, but I am not responsible for any fighting that may be created from this," I said before placing my hands in the seal that created the Henge, and flooded it with chakra. "Kage Henge!" I called before a puff of smoke appeared around me.

***Third POV***

(Cue song Cell's Slow Theme by Bruce Faulconer from The Best of DragonBall Z, Vol. VI - The Lost Tracks of DBZ)

The smoke faded to reveal a sight that had Sasuke's eyes burn with anger, his hands curl into fists and for him to yell out in fury.

"Itachi!" roared Sasuke before charging 'Itachi'. 'Itachi' waited until Sasuke was only centimetres away before kicking Sasuke in the gut, causing him to fly straight into a tree. As soon as Sasuke sunk to the ground, 'Itachi' flashed next to Sasuke and grabbed his throat, pushing him further into the tree.

Sasuke looked up weakly into 'Itachi' eyes and saw the Sharingan burning into his own. Fear began to consume Sasuke. The same fear he had when the massacre happened. When he saw Itachi with those same eyes he saw now. 'Itachi' then knocked him out with a quick hit. Just before Sasuke sank into unconsciousness, 'Itachi' saw red iris' with three tomoe, two in one and one in the other, before they disappeared and the eyes closed.

'Itachi' groaned loudly before a puff of smoke sprang up around him and Josh reappeared from the dissipating smoke.

***First POV***

(Cue music silence)

"Damnit, I didn't mean for that to happen," I muttered as I dropped Sasuke onto the ground. I turned to my friends restraining one screaming Sakura, demanding retribution, among other things.

"Sakura shut up!" I yelled loudly, causing her to stop in shock. "I just did Sasuke a favour. Do you know of the Sharingan?" She nodded. "Well the only way Sasuke was going to unlock it was for him to experience significant emotional trauma. Seeing his brother, the one that wiped out the Uchiha clan, was the only way of doing this without ripping him a new one. Sasuke now has the Sharingan. I saw it just before he lost consciousness. So you should take him to the hospital, just in case. And I would appreciate if you didn't tell anyone what happened here. I'll let Kakashi know." And with that Dawn, Trunks and I left the training area.

* * *

(Cue song Comical World by Shiro Sagisu from BLEACH Original Soundtrack I)

The three of us walked through the streets of Konoha, heading towards the Hokage Tower with the intention of letting Hiruzen know of Dawn and Trunks' observation of Team 7 in the exams. I was busy talking to Trunks about training when we passed two women in the street. They seemed to be talking about me. They kept calling me, 'that thing'. Trunks heard as well and was about to go over there and tell them off but I pulled him back. I walked over and they immediately stopped talking.

"Excuse me," I said in a very polite voice, "but my name is not 'that thing'. Do you know what my name is?"

They looked at each other in slight confusion and fear before hesitantly replying, "Uzumaki Naruto?"

I shook my head before I leered at them evilly and said, "No. My name is Kyuubi! Got it memorized? K Y U U B I."

The reaction I received was priceless. Their eyes widened and began to back away before bolting and ran screaming down the road. I turned to my friends to see them laughing. "Nice Axel impersonation!" complimented Trunks as we slapped each other a high-five. I then began to do a jazzy shuffle down the road while singing, "Shuka shuka shuka, Feel Good! Shuka shuka shuka, Feel Good!"

* * *

(Cue song Kaze no Kuruma by Kajiura Yuki from Erementar Gerad OST 1)

For the next week we prepared for the Chunin Exam. I took it easy during training as I didn't want to strain myself and be unfit to enter the Exam when the time came. I now had the Rasengan and the Neo Kage Bunshin jutsus mastered. I gave up working on the Hiraishin, as there was no way I would be able to master it before the exams. I knew that I had to enter the dimensional void that summons use as corridors between the Summon Realm and the Physical Realm, which would then transport me instantly to the Hiraishin seal, but it was easier said than done. It was, to quote Shikamaru, troublesome.

So instead I spent some time in the Training Room and developed a new jutsu powered by Ki energy. Since learning the Hiraishin was impossible with the timeframe I had, I decided to create a 'portable' version of the Hiraishin. I called it, Ki Steps. I coat the bottom of my shoes with Ki energy and essentially levitate across the ground at almost instantaneous speeds. But it was a short-range jutsu only; 20 meters max per jump, and you had to see where you were going. It wasn't much but it was better than nothing. It would certainly give me an edge in the one on one battles.

The first time I saw Sasuke after the incident, he glared at me with such fury that I wouldn't be surprised if he shot lasers at me with his eyes. But he kept his temper under control. He spent the week training with Kakashi with his new Sharingan. Since Kakashi was busy, I helped train Sakura when I could. I taught her to fuel chakra into her arms and legs to enhance strength and speed. I told her to apply the tree walking exercise into running on the ground and she was surprised when the enhanced grip enabled her to run much faster. When augmented with the chakra pumping in her legs, she could become very speedy, above Chunin level anyway.

(Cue song Car24 by Yoko Kanno from Cowboy Bebop Original Soundtrack 1)

At one point, only two days before the start of the Exam, Dawn, Trunks and I were taking a day off to rest from training. Rex had joined us and was currently riding atop my head. Dawn was wearing her usual white outfit, looking quite beautiful in it. When all of a sudden a box that was poorly disguised as a rock, snuck up on us. I grinned to myself before Ki stepping behind the box and removing it to reveal three familiar kids.

"Hey Kono! How's it going?" I asked.

"Aww man! I thought we would get you good this time!" muttered Konohamaru.

"So who are your friends?" asked Dawn.

"Oh yeah! This is Moegi," the kid pointed to a girl Kono's age. She had her bright orange hair sticking up in two bag-like bunches. She wore a light pink shirt with a maroon shirt and cape over the top and tan brown pants. If I remembered correctly the 8 year old was the granddaughter of Koharu Utatane, one of Hiruzen's teammates and currently one of the old bats on the Konoha Council. This wasn't confirmed on the story but many rumours suggested this outcome.

"And this is Udon!" finished Konohamaru, pointing to his second friend. He had short brown hair, sleepy eyes, round glasses and a drip of snot coming out of his right nostril. He wore a long sleeved navy jacket and tan pants. Another rumour said that Udon was the kid of Hayate and Yùgao, but after meeting them a few months ago I learned the truth that he wasn't their child. Hayate and Yùgao were still dating. And there was no way those two would make such a nerdy looking kid. He or she would be a sword wielding badass.

"Hello guys! My name is Uzumaki Naruto. Nice to meet you," I said warmly to them. "This is my good friend Trunks and my girlfriend Dawn."

"Hello," they replied back.

"So what's up Kono?" I asked.

"Well you haven't played with us for a while. You've always been busy," complained the spiky brown haired kid. He now wore his scarf around his forehead to set his spiky hair in place.

"Sorry bout that. We've been training real hard since we've been nominated to enter the Chunin Exam in two days time. We were just relaxing before it started so we've got time now..." I trailed off as I noticed he was looking at something other than me.

"Is that a fox?" asked Konohamaru in apprehension.

I sighed. "Yes Kono, it's a fox. There's no need to be scared of him. Just because one fox attacked the village doesn't mean all foxes are bad. Do you think all humans are bad because one kid bullied you in the playground?"

Kono thought about it for a few moments before he smiled. "You're right! Can I hold him?"

I smiled and picked up Rex and placed him on the ground. The kit immediately jumped into Kono's arms and snuggled against his face.

"Wow! He's so soft!" Kono said softly as Moegi and Udon came over to pat him.

"His name is Rex," I supplied before we began to walk toward a park to relax in.

"So you learn anything new?" asked Kono.

"Yep!" I said before activating my Ki Steps. I flashed to the other side of Kono, waited for him to notice me and then flashed back to my original position.

"Wow! What was that?" the three kids all asked together.

"I call it Ki Steps. Using my bloodline powers to create Ki energy I coat Ki onto my feet and levitate slightly before 'skating' over the ground and appearing in a spot within eyesight and 20 meters almost instantaneously. You've heard of the famous Hiraishin?"

"I have," spoke up Udon. "It's supposed to be an instantaneous teleportation jutsu."

"That's right. Well Ki Steps is a scaled down version of that, fuelled by Ki energy," I finished.

"So cool!" whispered Kono in awe.

"It'll certainly give me the edge in the Chunin Exams," I noted.

(Cue song Vertigo High by Skankfunk from Air Gear Original Soundtrack 1)

It was at this point that we rounded a corner and Kono, who was slightly in front of me, ran straight into someone. He was sent to the ground with Rex bounding out of his arms and ran over to us. I looked to see that it was Kankurō that Kono had crashed into. Kankurō wore a black, baggy, full body suit with a red and yellow circle on the front. He also wore a black hood with cat-like ears and his forehead protector on his forehead. This hood covered his hair completely. He also sported triangular face paint around his face.

Next to him was the beautiful but deadly Temari. Temari had dark teal eyes and blond hair, which was gathered into four pigtails arranged around her head. Her outfit consisted of a single light purple-coloured garment that extended from below her shoulders to halfway down her thighs, with a scarlet sash tied around her waist. In addition to incorporating fishnet worn over her shoulders and legs, specifically on her right calf and her left thigh, she also wore her headband around her neck.

"Ow..." grumbled the kid as he rubbed his head.

"Why you little brat!" said Kankurō as he reached down to grab Kono, but just as he was about to haul him up, I Ki Stepped and was able to get Kono out of reach of him. Kankurō's hand grasped at nothing and he blinked before looking up to where I had appeared.

"Ah! Suna ninja. I guess you decided to play outside your sandbox and enter the Chunin Exams huh?" I asked.

"That's right, and I owe that kid a lesson so if you know what's good for you you'll hand him back over," he growled.

"Oh no. I am really scared," I deadpanned. "This is my scared face." I then gave Kankurō a flat look. In response he growled and removed the package from his back that was wrapped in bandages.

"Kankurō, you know we shouldn't fight here," said Temari.

"You should listen to your friend as you're in someone else's backyard," I said. "You have no idea who's strong and who is not. I could be as strong as a god or as weak as a newborn, but can you really afford to take that risk? You know nothing of me and a lack of information will get you killed."

Kankurō simply slammed his package onto the ground. "You bark loudly, but I hate punks like you who show off!" he growled.

"I'm not barking," I said calmly. "Just warning you, that's all. But if you persist then I'll have no choice but to disarm you. By the way, are you gay?"

Kankurō facefaulted while Temari and Dawn giggled. Trunks simply developed a shit eating grin. "What the fuck was that all about!" yelled Kankurō as he stood back up.

"Well it's just you've got makeup all over your face. You've even got lipstick and eyeshadow on. That yells 'gay!' to everyone," I answered in a matter-of-fact tone.

"IT'S NOT MAKEUP! IT'S WARPAINT! THERE'S A DIFFERENCE!" roared Kankurō. Then he stopped instantly and gulped as he was staring at the edge of Hidden Avenger as it was inches away from his throat.

"You let your anger get the best of you and you let your guard down. You won't last very long in the Chunin Exams," I added. From out of the corner of my eye I saw Temari's hand inch toward the large battle fan she had strapped to her back. In an instant Trunks was behind her with his sword drawn and positioned at her neck.

"I wouldn't do anything rash now. We're not your enemy, but we will humiliate you if you continue. Now I'll give you two choices. Either stand down and we go our separate ways, no strings attached. Or we'll do something particularly evil to you. Your choice." I made sure my evil grin was in full view to show that I was serious on my promise.

There was a tense moment before Temari relaxed and her hand moved back down. "Kankurō, he's right. We didn't come here to start a fight. Like it or not we are at their mercy right now." Kankurō looked at the point of the sword poised at his neck before he too relaxed.

(Cue music silence)

"Wise choice," I said before both I and Trunks flashed back to where we were standing a few minutes ago. I deactivated the sword, making sure it was out of sight as the blade deconstructed itself before the handle disappeared back into the device around my wrist. Trunks threw his sword into the air and it spiralled up then down. He leaned to the side and the sword slid smoothly into the sheath; all the while smiling.

"Well, we'll see you three in the exam," I said and they looked confused before a third person joined Temari and Kankurō in a swirl of sand.

He had pale skin and short, spiky hair that is brick-red. HisGaara's eyes were spindrift, a mix between turquoise and sea foam green. The pupils of his eyes were mostly invisible. He had no eyebrows either. He had two very notable traits in his outward appearance: firstly, he had tanuki-like black eye rings. Secondly, he had a kanji tattoo, 'love', on the left side of his forehead. He wore a black full body suit with t-shirt-like sleeves, ¾-length pants, and an open neck. With this, he wore a white cloth over his right shoulder and the left side of his hips, and a wide leather band system over the left shoulder and right side of his hips. With this leather band, he carried around a large gourd. He also wrapped his forehead protector over the band.

The boy looked at me. "What is your name?" he asked emotionlessly.

"It's polite to give your own name before asking," I replied.

The boy paused. "Subaku no Gaara."

'Of the Funk!' I grinned mentally, thinking of something I watched on YouTube. "That's a long name. I'll just call you Gaara for now. The names Uzumaki Naruto," I replied, smiling in what I hoped was a friendly manner.

Gaara simply nodded before he turned away and began to walk down the street away from us. Kankurō turned as well and Temari paused to look at me before hurrying after her brothers.

"Phew!" I said. "Glad that's over with. It was a bit tense there." I then turned to the three 8 year olds. "Sorry Kono, but we need to cut off our park time. We'll do this another day. Right now we need to prepare for the day after tomorrow."

"Ok Josh-nii-san," replied Konohamaru before he and his friends ran up the street, waving as they left.

"So what were you going to do if they resisted?" asked Dawn curiously.

"I would of knocked them out, stripped them of all their clothes, and then, with Rex's help, cast a genjustu on them to make them think that they were still dressed," I grinned evilly. Dawn mirrored my grin. "You really are gaining a foxy prankster personality."

"Why thank you my lady," I bowed to her.

* * *

[Cue song WRO March by Masashi Hamauzu from DIRGE of CERBERUS -FINAL FANTASY VII- Original Soundtrack (DISC-1)]

As soon as we arrived back home I noticed a familiar black Kitsuné waiting for me at the front gate, chatting to Zack and Cloud. As soon as he noticed me, which was when I was still halfway up the long walkway from the road to the Kitsuné Chateau, he transformed into his hanyou form.

"Commander," bowed the fox.

"Capitan Yamu," I responded.

"My subordinates have located the three targets. They are currently gathering info on them as we speak. I will have the results in a week," reported Capitan Yamu.

"Very good. Dismissed," I replied. The fox nodded before he disappeared in a swirl of black shadows.

* * *

AN: Reviews up my loyal fans. Review and I shall deliver.


	15. Chapter 15: First Task

**Chapter 15: First Task**

(Cue song Vana'diel March by Naoshi Mizuta from Final Fantasy XI Original Soundtrack)

The day before the Exam the whole of the Kitsuné Clan was busy. Zabuza and the twins were asked to become proctors in the exam so they were getting enough gear together for a week long mission. Knowing the Second Task was for 5 days I decided to ready myself as well.

As I knew fuck all about foraging and hunting, I decided to cheat slightly and so cooked enough food for three good meals per day, for five days and several large packs of potato chips to munch on while we watched the preliminaries. I cooked enough to share with Trunks, Dawn, Sasuke and Sakura, and enough chip packets to share with my other fellow Leaf Genin.

And then the day arrived. I was ready, pumped and geared to own this exam. I made sure that everything was ready by triple checking my equipment. My mission clothes were all on aside from my black bandana. I would wear that in the second exam. But the pants were changed to a pair of black cargos. White Requiem was on my back and Hidden Avenger was in working order. My food scrolls were tucked into a couple of straps on the inside lining of my coat, meant to hold scrolls.

"Ok," I said to myself as I stood in the entrance hall. "Weapons? Check. Scrolls? Check. Materia? Check. Gravity seals? Level 15. Best friend and Lover?"

"We're here," said Trunks as he and Dawn walked over to stand next to me. Dawn had her sword strapped to her back with the handle poking over the top of her right shoulder. Trunks' sword was in the same position. Trunks was wearing his usual clothes, but Dawn was wearing something more casual. She wore a white t-shirt with a black leather bomber style jacket over the top, white loose skirt that ended halfway down her thighs, black thigh high stockings, black knee high boots and her usual glasses that always made her look intelligently sexy. She looked like a regular girl from my world aside from the fact that her beauty was unmatched with anyone from my world.

"You look absolutely gorgeous Dawn," I complemented her. She smiled brilliantly at me.

"By the way, what are your sword's names anyway?" I asked.

The two looked at each other and shrugged. "We never gave them names," said Dawn.

"But now that you mention it, it seems right to do so," added Trunks. "But I don't know what to call mine."

"Neither do I," said Dawn.

"Ok then. I'll name them. Trunks, your sword can be called Odin. Odin is the name of a god in my world and a summon in a few video games. In the games he swipes at enemies with his sword and they are cut completely in two, causing instant death." Trunks nodded at the information. "A good name. Odin."

"Dawn, your sword will be called Zanmatou. It means 'the sword that beheads evil'. It looks almost identical to a sword wielded by a summon in a game." Dawn grinned. "I like it!" she said.

"Ok then... where's Rex?" I asked, only for a furry object to plonk down on my head. "Oh, there you are," I added as his face appeared upside down at the top of my vision as he looked down at me. "Here I am Mister Commander."

"Well, we're all here. Let's go to the academy and meet up with Team 7."

* * *

We found Sasuke and Sakura standing outside the academy. "Hey Sakura. You ready?" I asked the pink haired girl.

Sakura hesitated before nodding. "Yeah."

"Good. Well, let's go in," I said but Sakura stopped me.

"What's that on your head? Is that a fox?" she exclaimed. I gave her a flat look. "Yes Sakura. It's a fox."

"But-," began Sakura but I cut her off.

"I'll tell you the same thing I told Konohamaru two days ago. There's no need to be scared of him. Just because one fox attacked the village doesn't mean all foxes are bad. Do you think all humans are bad because one kid bullied you in the playground?"

Sakura was silent for several moments before she gave a small smile. "I guess not."

"Good. And besides, we don't know the real reason the Kyuubi attacked the village. Maybe there's more to it than what is known," I noted while giving a very quick glance at Dawn.

"You think so?" Sakura asked.

"I do. I happen to love foxes and I think that all living creatures should have a chance to explain their actions, no matter who they are. Now let's go," I said before the team trooped inside.

"Did you run into a foreign ninja yesterday?" Sakura asked. "Sasuke-kun said that he ran into one."

"Yeah, I did. The Suna team. Trunks and I managed to persuade them not to do anything foolish," I replied with Trunks grinning.

"It was just one ninja with me and Sasuke-kun. They almost seemed to be testing us. Weird isn't it?"

"Maybe they were," I said mysteriously. The conversation was cut short as we approached the crowd outside a doorway guarded by two kids. We pushed our way to the front and watched. Trunks, Dawn and I were the highest out of everyone so we just looked over the heads to watch. We weren't getting very many looks at our strange clothes or weapons as everyone's attention was directed at the two guards.

At that moment Lee was kicked back from the passageway. A girl who wore navy pants and a pink Chinese sleeveless shirt checked to see if Lee was alright. She had her hair into two buns at the top of her head, looking like two panda ears. It was Tenten.

"You plan to take the Chunin Exam with that?" said the one who kicked Lee. He had black spiky hair and had two sword length kunais strapped to his back. It was Kotetsu henged into a kid. His partner, Izumo, was next to him, also henged into a kid. There were a few theories as to why these two were doing this. One was to thin the ranks and separate the kids who really had a chance to become Chunin from the wimps. Another was that they just wanted to mess with them.

"You guys should just quit now," said Izumo with a smirk.

"You're just little kids," added Kotetsu.

"Please let us through," asked Tenten in a whimpering voice. She tried to get past but Kotetsu pushed her back strongly. I decided to intervene at that point.

I Ki Stepped behind them and placed my hands on their shoulders. "Now now you two. You're not the ones who decide that. That's what the Chunin Exam is for." They looked up and smiled. "Oh hey. It's fox boy," said Kotetsu, grinning.

(Cue song Sazh's Theme by Masashi Hamauzu from Final Fantasy XIII Original Soundtrack)

I growled before bonking him on the head hard. He lost his concentration and the henge disappeared off him. When the smoke cleared Kotetsu was standing there in his real form.

"Ow! That hurt!" cried out the Chunin.

"How many times have I told you not to call me that?" I growled louder.

"Once too many apparently," said Izumo before he dispelled his henge.

"So what's the deal? Are you just messing with these guys? Or is there a purpose behind this little stunt?" I asked. They simply grinned. "Not telling, huh," I replied to their smiles before turning around and holding my hand out to Lee. "Hey there Lee. How ya been?"

"It is good to see you Naruto-san!" replied the green spandex clad ninja as he gripped my hand and I pulled him to his feet.

"Lee? Who's this?" asked Tenten.

"This is Naruto-san. Remember? I've told you about him. We sparred with each other some time ago," replied Lee.

"Oh yes. Now I remember," exclaimed Tenten before she smiled at me. "Nice to meet you. I'm Tenten, Lee's teammate."

"Nice to meet you too. My name is Uzumaki Naruto," I introduced myself.

She looked me up and down before smiling pointedly at me. "I am impressed. You survived against one of Lee's 'sparring sessions'."

"Well, in all fairness we were both handicapped. He had his weights on and I wasn't fighting with my sword," I replied mildly.

"Sword?" asked Tenten. I mentally prepared myself for a fan-girl moment and turned around, showing off White Requiem in its full glory.

"Oh my god! What a beautiful weapon!" Tenten gasped.

'Well what do you know. Some fanfiction stories were right in her weapons fangirlism,' I thought to myself. I then jerked my thumb at the two Chunin behind me. "Sorry bout these two. You can go through now."

Tenten looked ready to burst with questions about my weapon, but seemed to realise that this was not the time for them. So she nodded her thanks but Lee stopped and looked at Sakura. Tenten saw this and shook her head. "Oh boy..." she mumbled.

(Cue song Lady Killer by Scudelia Electro from King of Bandits Jing: OST)

Lee waked right up to Sakura. "My name is Rock Lee. And yours is Sakura," he said. Sakura had no idea what was coming.

Lee then gave her the thumbs up and grinned widely. "Let's go out together! I'll protect you until I die!"

Sakura was speechless; no doubt from Lee's straightforwardness... and his eyebrows. "No... way..." she finally said.

Poor Lee just stood there, shocked that his idea didn't work. I laughed and clapped Lee on the shoulder. "Maybe if you didn't dress like a male ballerina then she wouldn't give such a cold and blunt answer," I said.

"Yeah..." he moaned depressively.

"Don't give up Lee! You'll get the girl someday!" encouraged Dawn.

"Yeah. You were never one to just roll over and, well, die," I added.

"You're right! Yes! I won't give up on you Sakura!" Lee yelled passionately.

"Good to know," muttered Trunks, pretending to scratch his head but really sticking his finger into his ear to try and rid the ringing sound.

"Ok then. Let's get up to the third floor as seeing this is the _second_ floor... dumbasses," I stressed loudly so everyone heard. There were a lot of embarrassed mutterings as I said this. Izumo sighed before deactivating the layer genjutsu on the sign stating the room number. We then walked past the Chunins and up to the next level. "See ya guys." Sasuke and Sakura followed us.

It only took a few minutes to get to the right area as Lee decided to forgo challenging Sasuke to a fight. We arrived at the room 301 with time to spare. Kakashi was in front of the door, waiting.

"Ok! Time to kick ass at the Chunin Exams!" I said with enthusiasm.

"Slow down for a sec Naruto," replied Kakashi.

"Ooooookkkkkkk Kakaaaaaaashiiiiiii," I said while grinning. Dawn and Trunks grinned alongside me.

[Cue song Unreal Tournament Title (UT3 Remix) by Rom Di Prisco from Unreal Tournament 3 OST - Disk 1]

Kakashi sighed before he smiled at us. "Good to see all of you here. A prerequisite for this exam is that you take it as a team, but I didn't want to pressure Sakura into being here if she wasn't confident. But you came here of you own free will, right?" Sakura nodded.

"Well then, good luck in the exam. Even if you don't pass, the experience you gain here will be invaluable in the future. But still, do your best. I'll be cheering for all three of you." Kakashi then moved out of the way so we could walk past and into the next room. I bumped fists with the silver haired ninja before entering the room.

The inside was almost full to the brim with ninjas. And what a variety there were. There were ninjas of all kinds in here; Chunin hopefuls ready to take the exam. And they all didn't look very happy to see us.

"Geez! Lighten up guys!" I said loudly, drawing everyone's attention onto me. "What? You got a problem with me?" I decided a little intimidation was in order and so flared my Ki gently and flowed chakra into my eyes to make them glow. The result was me covered in blue energy that flickered over me like a gentle fire and my purple eyes glowing eerily. Everyone I saw was shocked and now quite nervous. Even the Suna ninja that Dawn, Trunks and I met two days ago were warily looking at me. Except for Gaara. He stayed calm and cool. Everyone then looked away.

"That's what I thought," I muttered as I relaxed, the Ki fire and eye glowing fading away.

(Cue song Tripnofunk by Tripnotic)

"Hey! Look who it is!" called a voice and we looked over to see Ino and her team walking over. Ino immediately latched onto Sasuke and proceeded to grind against him. This pissed Sakura off and the two slid into a growling and name calling match, allowing Sasuke to slip away.

"Hey Shikamaru, Chouji," I greeted.

"You three are here too? How troublesome," muttered Shikamaru before he caught sight of me. "What the? Naruto?"

"Yep. It's me. I unlocked my bloodline limit which resulted in a growth spurt and a change in eye colour," I explained.

"Huh? Is that so?" came another voice. This time it was Kiba and his team. Hinata looked cute as always. "Hiya there Kiba, Hinata, Shino," I greeted.

"So who are your friends?" asked Kiba, who was eyeing Dawn.

"This is Trunks and Dawn, my _girlfriend_," I stressed.

"Tch!" said Kiba before turning away. Poor Hinata looked crushed. 'Maybe it wasn't a good idea to announce that before she had a chance to tell me her feelings. Oh well, I'm sure that a chance will come along and if not, then I'll just have to create that chance,' I thought. Looking at Dawn she seemed to be thinking along the same lines as me. She confirmed this by nodding to me.

"So Naruto, what's with the fox?" asked Kiba.

"Well that's my little secret," I said in an annoyingly superior voice.

Kiba blinked, probably not used to my new personality before glaring. "Bastard..." he muttered before moving away.

"How's it going Hinata?" I asked. She immediately shied up and began to fiddle with her fingers again. "I-I'm doing o-ok," she stuttered.

"Oh by the way, I haven't introduced you to my new girlfriend have I? This is Dawn. Dawn, this is my friend Hinata." The girl instantly reddened up at the mention that I thought of her as a friend. Evidently she never thought she would get so far as to be my friend.

"Hey there!" said Dawn and bowed to her. "It's nice to finally meet you Hinata. Naruto's told me about you, how you were the only girl his age to be nice to him. Thank you so much."

Poor Hinata was so overwhelmed at the praise and acknowledgment that she dealt with it the only way she knew how to. She tipped backwards...

... and fell into my arms as I Ki stepped behind her. "Oy... she's out like a light." I then hoisted her up and stepped over to Shino. "Think you could hold on to her?" I asked. Shino gave a silent nod and I handed her over to the bug user.

"What was that you just did?" asked Shikamaru.

I grinned at him. "Se-cret!" I replied simply.

"Troublesome blonde," he said back. "So all three rookie teams made it, eh? Smells like Jōnin competition to me."

"Jezz Shika, how long did it take you to figure that out?" I muttered sarcastically. If he heard me, he ignored the jibe at his intelligence.

"How far do you think we can get, Sasuke-chan?" asked Kiba.

"Hmph, you seem to be confident, Kiba," replied Sasuke, smirking.

"We trained like hell. We won't lose to you Sasuke," the dog user countered.

"Well that's not that hard. Why I kicked his ass a week ago with two hits," I muttered softly, but Kiba picked up on it.

"You're such a liar Naruto. I'd pay to see Sasuke beat you into the ground."

"Whatever woofer," I said before noticing someone walking up to us. It was Kabuto. I smirked, along with Dawn and Trunks. We all knew who he worked for, or rather, who he slept with. Snake-fucker.

(Cue song Constructor's Blues by Mitsutoshi Sato from Gran Turismo 5 Prologue OST)

"Hey you, you should quiet down a bit. This isn't a field trip," he said with slight annoyance.

"And we don't care what you think four-eyes," I retorted coolly.

"Who the hell are you?" asked Ino.

"My name is Yakushi Kabuto. But never mind that, look around you," he advised. We did and we saw that everyone had gone back to looking at us with murder in their eyes.

I removed White Requiem and pointed it at the crowd, creating my Ki body fire, making it slightly stronger than before. "What the fuck are you looking at? HUH!" They immediately went back to doing their own thing, sweating slightly.

"That's better," I said, placing my sword back onto my back. I turned to see all of the rookies and Kabuto looking at me. "What?" I asked.

"How did you do that?" asked Sasuke. I simply grinned at him. "Se-cret!" I repeated. Emo douche muffin boy's eye twitched but he said nothing.

"Maybe I should help you cute rookies out then," said Kabuto.

"I'm not 'cute'! I'm a Cool, Handsome and Badass Demonic Avatar of Awesomeness. And don't any of you forget that," I grinned a Grimmjow grin. "And we don't need stale info from a seven-time looser like you," I added.

"Now don't say that. Don't you want to know detailed info on your adversaries?" Kabuto asked.

"How so?" asked Sakura. "And what did you mean by 'seven-time looser'?" She directed her second question at me.

"Because this guy has failed the Chunin Exam seven times so far," I replied.

"But because of that, I know lots about the exam," added Kabuto, trying to sell himself. He then pulled out a deck of cards from his kunai pouch. "With these nin-info cards."

'Oh great, the famous nin-info cards,' I groaned internally. I and my companions tuned out of his explanation of the cards while the rookies listened in.

"Hey Rex?" I whispered.

"Yes Mister Commander?" asked the fox in his native tongue which, thanks to my hanyou side, I was able to understand.

"I reckon Sasuke will ask to see my card, so could you place a small, undetectable genjutsu on it just in case there is some sensitive info on it? See what's written on there too."

"Sure thing! Is there anything particular you want it to say?" yipped Rex.

"Hmm... not really. Just make it basic," I recommended.

"The genjutsu will also make Kabuto think that what he's reading is correct," added the young kit.

"Excellent!" I praised him.

"Are there any cards there with detailed personal info?" asked Sasuke and I began to pay attention again.

"Yes. Is there someone that interests you?" asked Kabuto.

"Yes," Sasuke replied simply.

"The info of this exam's examinees are not perfect, but I've burned and saved them. Who is the person or people you wish to see?"

"Uzumaki Naruto."

I felt Rex tense on top of my head and knew he was ready.

"Uzumaki Naruto?" Kabuto asked, looking at me before shrugging. "Very well." He flipped through the cards and soon stopped at one. At that point I felt an extremely faint pulse that signified the casting of a genjutsu. I looked around discreetly to see if anyone noticed. 'Looks all safe. Nice going Rex.' Kabuto picked up the card and began to read.

"Uzumaki Naruto. Age: 13. Height: 6'7". Speciality: Kenjutsu, Ninjutsu and Fúinjutsu. True abilities unknown. Known jutsus used: Kage Bunshin and Henge," reported Kabuto.

"Well I guess that was a big fat waste of time for you, EDM," I said while grinning at Sasuke.

"The true info on the card stated a use of unknown energy in various uses such as a jutsu known as Ikkyu Nyu Kon, rapid fire blasts and a golden cloak of sorts," reported Rex in fox lingo. I nodded.

"Nice going Rex," I thanked.

"You can talk to that fox?" asked Kiba.

"Sure I can. You can understand Akamaru, right?" I said.

"Y-yeah..." replied Kiba. "By the way, why did you call Sasuke EDM?"

"EDM stands for Emo Douche Muffin," I explained. This resulted in Kiba howling with laughter and both Shikamaru and Chouji grinning.

"You take that back!" threatened Ino.

"Or what Yamanaka? You gonna use your fan-girl kung fu on me? I am so scared," I replied sarcastically. Ino glared at me but did nothing. I thought I caught the sight of tears in her eyes but as soon as I saw them, they disappeared. I sighed mentally. 'Maybe Ino really didn't deserve that... Geez, now I'm getting soft on a fan-girl. What's next? The universe implodes?'

"There are many well trained Genin in this exam, including the recently made Otogakure. And since it's recently made, I don't have much information on them," said Kabuto, shuffling his cards and putting them away. "But they are all powerful ninja villages."

"I'm starting to lose confidents," said Hinata softly. She had woken up recently.

"It's alright Hinata. You'll be fine as your strong," I said. Her face instantly reddened so I hung off on saying anything more to her. Didn't want to knock her out and have her miss out on the first test.

"Well time to address the rest of these guys," I said softly before turning my Ki flare up to medium and glaring at everyone besides the rookies. I took a deep breath and...

(Cue song Comical World by Shiro Sagisu from BLEACH Original Soundtrack I)

"BIAWH!"

Total silence.

"BIAWH! I'm gonna go into this exam and I'm gonna kick everyone's motherfuckin ass! BIAWH! And then I'm gonna become the Hokage and I'm gonna bust down the Hokage's Room door and I'm gonna chop that motherfuckin desk in half! BIAWH! And then I'm gonna grab the ANBU and pull their heads and like... BIAWH!" All this time I was making wild gestures. Dawn, Trunks and Rex were pissing themselves with laughter.

"Ok, I'm done," I then said and everyone did a facefault.

"Nice Dave Chappelle moment!" said Dawn, still giggling.

(Cue song Callista by Saki Kaskas. The song that plays at Afterlife in Mass Effect 2)

"Why thankyou my lady," I said before I walked up to her, grabbed her ass and pulled her in for an intense kiss. We ignored the fact that everyone besides Trunks was looking at us and allowed our hands to explore each other's bodies. Hers were occupied with my hair and back while mine kneaded her very soft and supple bum. I felt her smiling into the kiss before she raised her left leg and wrapped it around my right one, rubbing it up and down, while at the same time she began to moan into my mouth. In response I moved my hand from her ass to the leg and palmed her thigh with my fingers brushing her inner thigh.

After thirty seconds we separated. We were both panting slightly from the intimate scene we just pulled off in front of everyone. I took this moment to look at each of the rookie 9's expressions. Kiba's eyes were bludging out and his mouth was hanging open. Shino's expression was nothing more than raised eyebrows. Ino was quite shocked at us while Sakura was simply blushing heavily, already used to our random moments of intense making out, but still innocent enough to blush. Shikamaru and Chouji were open eyed and mouthed as well. Kabuto had a calculating look on his face which vanished as soon as I looked directly at him. Sasuke was red faced but was also fuming at the action he just saw. But it was Hinata's reaction that surprised me. Her face was completely red but her eyes were glaring at Dawn. 'Huh,' I thought simply.

Then I looked at everyone else and laughed out loud at the reaction. Everyone was gaping at me. Even the Sound guys and Gaara were shocked.

"Booya! Did that ever feel good!" I said loudly.

"Absolutely. If it weren't for all these people watching I would take you here and now after something like that," replied Dawn, making everyone even more shocked than before.

"You mean... Naruto and you have done..." asked Ino, gaping.

"Yep, several times," I replied with a shit-eating grin on my face.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAT!" everyone yelled. Sasuke looked ready to kill me then and there, but at that point there was a large puff of smoke at the front of the classroom.

(Cue song WRO March by Masashi Hamauzu from DIRGE of CERBERUS -FINAL FANTASY VII- Original Soundtrack)

"Quiet down! You punks!" roared a voice from within the cloud. It wasn't long before the smoke disappeared and revealed 20 or so Chunin and Jōnin.

"Hey! It's Izumo and Kotetsu! And Zabuza, Meizu and Gōzu! How ya going?" I called over to them.

"Oh Naruto! Good! How bout you?" asked Zabuza, remembering to use my cover name in public.

"Not bad, not bad! You just missed the action!"

"What action?" asked Kotetsu.

I laughed. "What indeed!" I replied, continuing to laugh.

"Oi you brat! Pipe down!" roared the tallest person on their side, a man wore a black trench coat over a grey shirt with a stiff collar, black belt and black pants. He had a few scars on his head and the top was covered up with his headband and cloth. His name was Ibiki, and he was in charge of Konoha's top tier Torture and Interrogation Squad.

"Yeah yeah. Take it easy old man!" I replied, making several Chunins and Jōnins flinch at my blatant casualness. Ibiki simply grinned. "You got balls kid! I like that," replied and I grinned. He then returned his attention to the rest of the room. "Sorry to keep you waiting. I am the examiner of the 1st test of the Chunin Selection Exam, Morino Ibiki."

There was complete silence from everyone else in the room. The guy had such a scary aura that no-one had the urge to say anything. Instead they waited.

"You are not allowed to fight each other during the exam unless given permission by the examiners. Even if the permission is granted, you are not allowed to kill your opponent. Bastards who go against me will fail instantly. Understood?" asked Ibiki.

"We will now begin the first exam of the Chunin Selection Exam. You will draw a number at random and then sit at your place determined by your drawn number. Then we will pass out the papers for the written exam."

I turned to Dawn and Trunks. "I'll see you at Training Field 44," I said.

"Sure thing Commander," replied Trunks with a grin. Dawn, however, gave me a good long kiss. "See you soon," she said afterwards. The two then shunshined out of the classroom, most likely to join up with Kakashi for a while before heading over the spot for the next exam.

After about twenty minutes of shuffling around we were in our designated chairs. I was seated next to Hinata, just like Naruto was in the anime. My sword was struck into the ground next to me on the opposite side of Hinata.

"Hey there Hinata," I whispered softly to her. "Good luck." I placed my hand on her shoulder and squeezed it softly. She looked ready to faint but my next words made her freeze. "Don't faint Hime, or what will you say to your teammates when you fail because you were knocked out for this exam?"

Her eyes looked at me in surprise. I gave her a gentle, but confident smile. She slowly nodded and returned to looking ahead, her face still red.

"The First Exam has a few important rules," said Ibiki, focusing all attention back on him. "There will be no question taking until the end, so use your ears instead of your mouth."

The Jōnin then began to write on the blackboard behind him while explaining the rules. They were exactly the same as from the anime. You were given a score of 10 points at the start. Each of the 10 questions on the test were worth one point each. Right was +1 and wrong was -1. However your score could not go over +10. The second rule was that your pathway to pass or fail was determined on your team's total points. Sakura at this point exclaimed out loud. She still thought my theoretical skills were crap. In truth, they were. But I had a special plan. After Ibiki shot down Sakura's interruption he continued with the next rule. If an examiner determines that a person cheated, two points would be deducted for each attempt. This was the reason most of the examiners were sitting around the rooms edge. Zabuza grinned at me when this was said.

"Those who try to cheat without thinking carefully will only hurt themselves," Ibiki said. "You're all trying to become Chunins. If you're a ninja, act like a first-rate one."

"As a side note, if anyone gets a zero, everyone in the team will fail," added the trench coat Jōnin. After this declaration was said, I felt two pairs of eyes burning into the back of my head. In response I placed my hands behind my head, balanced on the back on my chair and slammed my feet heavily on the desk. Ibiki simply grinned before continuing.

And finally the 10th question was to be asked after 45 minutes into the test. The time limit was one hour. And then, right on the stroke of 10:00 am, the test began.

I instantly picked up two people writing straight away. 'There goes the plants,' I thought to myself, grinning. I continued to stay in the exact same position, my eyes closed as I zoned in on one of the Chunin plants with my hearing. After ten or so minutes he finished. I then removed my feet from the desk, stood up and walked over to the plant's desk, which was in my row. I then picked up his test paper, walked back to my desk, and began to swiftly copy his answers onto my sheet. After 30 seconds I placed my pencil down and walked over to the plant's desk, gave his sheet back, and returned to my desk. I then put my feet up again and my hands behind my back.

"That only counts as once that I cheated, right?" I asked Ibiki.

Ibiki simply grinned before yelling to the class. "Anyone who does that stunt from now on will get disqualified!" There were loud groans before the class quietened down.

For the rest of the 45 minutes I closed my eyes and waited. I listened as several people were caught out, signifying their teams were failed as well. Then Ibiki's voice reverberated around the classroom to signal the infamous tenth question. "Ok! I will now give the 10th question!"

I grinned and prepared myself to prank Ibiki.

***Third POV***

"Now, there are a few new rules for this question," said Ibiki, but before he could go on the door to the room opened and Kankurō walked back in with his Chunin escort. "Heh, good timing," said Ibiki. "Was your playing with dolls beneficial?" Kankurō seemed to freeze for a second before resuming his march to his seat. "Just sit down," said Ibiki. After Kankurō was in his seat, Ibiki stood up and started pacing in front of the black board. "I'll now explain the rules of desperation."

"First, for this tenth question, you must choose whether or not to take it," said Ibiki.

The fan wielding Suna kunoichi Temari suddenly yelled, "Choose? What happens if we choose not to?"

"Those that choose not to answer will have their points reduced to zero and fail automatically along with their two team mates! But if you fail this question, you will lose the right to ever take the Chunin Exam again!"

(Cue song Forbidden Fruit by Naoki Sato from Eureka seveN OST 1 Disc 1)

At that precise moment a loud snoring noise filled the room. Any complaint or question from the occupants of the room was dispelled with curiosity replacing it. Everyone turned in their seats to see someone with spiky blonde and while hair who looked to be 30 rather than 13. And he was, seemingly, conked out on his desk sleeping.

Ibiki's hidden eyebrow twitched as the man continued to snore loudly, seemingly completely oblivious to what was going on around him. A few of the kids began to giggle and snicker at the man. The Hyuga sitting next to him tried to shake him gently awake but all it did was to make him snore louder.

Finally Ibiki snapped and he threw a kunai at the man. Even though he said he liked his guts to stand up to him, this was going too far. He sent the kunai on a trajectory that would simply cut his cheek. It was something Anko would do. But to his horror, the man shifted his head directly into the kunai's path in his sleep. He wasn't able to stop it as it was too close. But just as the knife was about to strike deep into the man's forehead, his hand shot around and caught the kunai. And still he slept. At this point everyone collapsed onto the ground.

***First POV***

I 'woke' up and looked around at everyone on the ground. "Why are you lying on the floor? You're all weird," I said, grinning widely to let everyone know that they were duped. Only Zabuza, Meizu, Gozu, Izumo and Kotetsu remained sitting and were laughing silently as they knew my prankster mind and quickly realised what I was really doing.

(Cue song The Price of Freedom by Takeharu Ishimoto from Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Original Soundtrack)

"So what were you saying? Something about deciding whether or not to take this last question?" I scoffed. "That's obvious! Of course I'm gonna take it! There's no way I'm gonna let a little thing like this get in the way of my progress. Besides, it's the same with taking missions. There's no way we're going to avoid tough missions. If the mission is tough, then gather information to make it easy, or at least more safer. As potential Chunin, we need to show courage for our teammates in a dangerous situation. To keep moral high, and to use the abilities of every single ninja under our command to make it through the mission as well as our own. This is what being a Chunin is all about. Besides," here I smirked. "You don't have the authority to ban us from becoming Chunin. Only the Hokage does, and even then, he probably wouldn't. A village needs as many ninja as possible, and the more Chunins and eventually Jōnins it has, the better. A village's power is the ninja under its wing. And so I will stay! I will overcome any barrier and obstacle in my way!"

Everyone was shocked at my speech. No-one expected such wisdom from me. But the most shocked was Ibiki. After a few moments Ibiki cleared his throat. "So are you all going to take the final question?"

No one moved.

"Then those remaining... PASS!"

There was complete silence from everyone as they tried to comprehend what just happened.

"Heh, of course we passed," I said, grinning.

"Wha-hold on! What just happened? What do you mean we passed? Where's the tenth question?" asked Sakura. In response Ibiki smiled, making his appearance much less intimidating.

"There was no such thing to begin with," he replied. "Or actually, the _decision_ whether to take the tenth question or not was the real tenth question."

"Wait a minute!" called Temari. "So what were all those previous nine questions? Was it all a waste?"

"No those were to learn and test your information gathering skills. The questions are all too hard for normal Genin to answer by themselves, so you then have no choice but to cheat. Those of you who cheated well and for the most part, undetected, were allowed to continue on, while those who were sloppy, had marks deducted until they failed," explained the scarred Jōnin. "Why? Because in war, information is the most valuable resource possible."

"Hmm," I nodded. "The first casualty in war is the truth."

"Ohh?" said Ibiki, once again turning to me. "That's a good one. Mind if I use it?"

I smiled. "Sure thing Ibiki. Just make sure that you note it was me who said it. I've got others. 'War is delightful to those who have not yet experienced it.' 'If your attack is going too well, you're walking into an ambush.' 'Don't get mad, get even.'" As I churned out quotes from my world, Ibiki's face grew more and more impressed. For the last one I raised my voice so that everyone could hear.

"All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near." I was glad that I remembered a few quotes from Sun Tsu's 'The Art of War'.

"You have much wisdom indeed," said Ibiki. "I have a feeling you will become a great Chunin in the future."

"But what about the tenth question?" asked Temari.

"Well let's put it this way. What the tenth question was really asking was, 'Will you become Chunin?'. That's putting it simply. The way in which it was asked was to test you, to see if you would take the unknown challenge despite what was in store for you if you failed. This kid," here Ibiki pointed at me, "is right. You cannot avoid bad missions. So persevere through it and get the job done with as little to no casualties as possible."

"The ability to show your courage to your comrades when needed, and the ability to get through a bad situation. That is what we look for in a Chunin; a squad leader. Those who cannot bet their fate in a critical situation. Those who give up when given the chance because there is next year, and let their minds sway over an uncertain future. Fools who only carry a light determination like that have no right to become a Chunin. That is what I believe. You're choice to take the 'tenth question' shows that you have the mental guts to become Chunin."

"The First Exam of the Chunin Selection ends now! I wish all of you luck." Ibiki looked like he was going to say something to me but at that point a large black ball shot through the window. Two kunais were thrown at the ceiling which unfurled the ball, containing a woman with purple hair and wearing a tan trench coat over a skimpy outfit.

(Cue music silence)

"Everybody! This is no time to be happy! I am the Second Examiner, Mitarashi Anko! Let's go to the next exam!" Here she pumped her fist into the air. "Follow me!"

"..." was the response she got.

Ibiki stepped out behind the big dark brown sheet with a large sweatdrop on him. "Grasp the atmosphere..." In turn Anko blushed and glared back. She then looked over the remaining examinees and did a quick head count. "78?" she asked.

'78 huh,' I thought to myself. 'Seems more people were failed in the first half of this part as no-one had a chance to back out after I spoke.'

"Ibiki, you getting soft?" Anko asked.

"There are a few excellent students this time," replied Ibiki, his eyes darting to me before returning. Anko caught the look and turned to me. A blush rose up on her face before she disappeared and reappeared on top of my lap. She leaned in close with a shit-eating grin on her face, so close that I felt her breasts press up against my chest. I didn't blink at all and just smirked at her. "Hello Anko. Long time no see."

"Huh?" she replied. I then leaned in close to her ear and whispered, "It's Naruto." She freaked out and jumped back, eyeing me suspiciously. "Naruto? What the hell?"

"I unlocked my bloodline limit a while ago and because of that, I gained a height boost and my eyes changed from blue to purple. That's why I look like suck a sexy hunk," I said, grinning at the last part. Anko had the decency to look sheepish before she returned to standing next to Ibiki.

"W-well anyway, I'm going to cut the remaining teams in half in the next exam," she said, making many Genin flinch. "Head to Training Field 44. That is all. Dismissed!"

* * *

(AN: Reviews up people. Let me know what you think of this chapter. I personally laugh my ass of every time I read it. Here's a little omake to split open your sides in laughter over again. Enjoy)

* * *

**Omake - Ibiki the Evil**

"First, for this tenth question, you must choose whether or not to take it," said Ibiki. "If you get it right, we award you 1,000,000 points. But if you get it wrong, you will be forced to watch One Piece (4kids version) and Dora the Explorer... AT THE SAME TIME!"

I began to violently tremble. "no... No... NOO! _NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!_"

"NO!" I gasped as I bolted into a sitting position. My eyes darted around the darkness for a moment before I realised I was in bed. I looked to the side to see a worried Dawn in a white silk negligee.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yeah... just a nightmare," I replied. I laid down and cuddled up to my vixen.

"What was it about?" she asked.

I shuddered. "It was about Ibiki, and he was pure evil."


	16. Chapter 16: The Second Task  Part 1

Chapter 16: Second Task Part 1

(Cue song Interlude by Senju Akira from Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Original Soundtrack 1)

"The whole damn world is just as obsessed, with who's the best dressed and who's having sex. Who's got the money, who gets the honeys, who's kinda cute and who's just a mess. And you still don't have the right book, and you don't have the right friends. Nothing changes but the faces, the names and the trends. High School Never Ends," I sung softly to myself as I made my way with the rest of the First test graduates to Training Area 44. Of course the song didn't pertain to my life at the moment. I had great friends, a smoking hot girlfriend, I was rich, had a huge mansion to live in, was a lord to a whole animal species, commanded 10 million soldiers, was living in one of the most kick ass stories ever and I was a Kitsuné hanyo.

"...House real-BIG, Cars real-BIG, Dick real-BIG, Everything real-BIG... Rims real-BIG, Pockets real-BIG, Rings real-BIG, Let me tell u how I live. Like that? buy that! 24's - ride that. Ladies, Gentlemen, Gangstas, Pimps, Bitches, Hoes, Stunners, Shiners. I'm Rich-bitch! I'm a fucking big timer!... Yeah, that's more like it," I grinned.

Then again it would only be a few moments before Orochi-wanker disguised as a grass ninja would show himself. Then we would meet him in the forest and Sasuke would get his little love bite of Power after trying and failing to be kick ass. 'I wonder how much the timeline would be screwed if I killed Orochi-fruitcake now rather than later when he's become a part of snakefucker aka Kabuto?' I thought to myself. However I was deluding myself if I thought I could kill the sannin at the moment. I would need to have six to seven tails released before I could do the universe a favour by turning him into a bloody smear on some random cliff face. I had a massive army but I wasn't prepared to sacrifice anyone if I wasn't willing to do the deed myself. Besides, I wanted to have the personal honour of owning him myself. I could use Hidden Avenger to kill him, but there was still the timeline to think about.

"Say Naruto?" asked a familiar voice and I turned my head to see Sakura.

"Yeah? What's up?" I asked.

"That was quite clever, what you did in the examination room to get the answers," she said, smiling softly.

I smiled back. "You've started to change for the better Sakura, since we've been grouped together. I'm glad you're not a total fan-girl anymore. You're still a little Sasuke obsessed but I'll rid that soon enough." Sakura's eyes hardened slightly and her smile became fixed and rigid, but she didn't blow her stack. 'Amazing. Miracles do happen.'

"Hey handsome!" came a much welcomed call. I looked ahead to see Dawn charging at me. I noted that she now wore her Lightning mission outfit. She leapt into my arms and we hugged closely.

"Hey gorgeous. Wait long?" I asked as Trunks caught up with us.

"No. We spent some time with Kakashi before moving over to here," replied the red haired angel.

"Cool," I smiled.

"Why..."

"Huh?" I looked around to find out who spoke. I then realised it was Sasuke. "What's wrong with you?" I asked. But it seemed he wasn't talking to me.

"Why? Why do you choose the dobe over me, an Uchiha, a ninja elite!" he asked, and I realised he was talking to Dawn. "You're not going to like the answer," I warned him in a sing song voice. He ignored me.

"You really want to know?" asked Dawn. Sasuke nodded.

(Cue song Forbidden Fruit by Naoki Sato from Eureka seveN OST 1 Disc 1)

"Ok. You are physically repulsive, intellectually retarded, morally reprehensible, vulgar, insensitive, selfish, stupid, you have no taste, a lousy sense of humour and you smell."

"Oo-ho-ho-ho-hoooo... BURRRRRRRRRNNNNNN!" called Trunks and myself at the same time.

"Naruto here is handsome, loving, caring, an incredible lover, strong, sensitive, smart, selfless, has a great sense of humour, gentle, isn't overprotective and doesn't have the emotional range of a teaspoon like you." As she finished, I felt so light and happy.

"Man Dawn, you fill me up with anymore of these warm and fuzzy feelings I think I just might float away," I said. I then turned to Sasuke who looked fit to go Itachi on everyone. "Well there you have it EDM. I told you, you wouldn't like the answer." I then walked away towards where everyone was gathering in front of Training Area 44, leaving a fuming Sasuke and Sakura behind.

"Ok! Get over here kiddies!" called Anko from where she was. She was standing in front of a small stand that had three ninja of unidentifiable rank sitting in front of a desk. And behind them was Training Field 44. Once again I was blown away by how _big_ the trees were inside the field. They were huge. And thick. Probably as round as a typical bedsit apartment room. A high wire fence surrounded the area with 44 gates to allow entrance into the area.

"This is the location of the second stage of the Chunin Exam. The 44th training area, aka 'The Forest of Death," introduced Anko.

"Now that's what I call a big fucking tree," I mumbled.

"You will be able to experience why this is called the Forest of Death," continued the purple haired kunoichi.

"Whoever named this place is a complete retard. It should be called 'The Lair of Barney the Dinosaur' or something really scary like that," I whispered to my friends, who began to laugh quietly with me joining in. Unfortunately it seemed that Anko had heard the laughing and now looked directly at us.

"Uh-oh, busted!" I said.

"You know, boys like you die the fastest," said Anko as she smiled sweetly at me.

I just smiled back before my smile turned into a sexy grin and I began to stream chakra into my eyes, making them glow. The result was quite intimidating if the reactions to those around me were anything to go by.

"Maybe you should test me Anko-chan," I said in my super sexy growly voice that I reserved mostly for bedroom talk. She grinned back. "Looks like there are a few hot-headed ninjas here today."

"Would you like to see what other areas of me that are hot?" This got a shocked reaction out of her. To my knowledge, Anko had never been bested in sexual verbal jousting. This was probably a new experience for her. However she simply nodded in acknowledgement, mumbled, "Touché," and moved on.

(Cue song SeeD by Nobuo Uematsu from Final Fantasy VIII OST)

"Before we begin, I need to pass these out." Here she took out a stack of consent form papers from within her coat. Everyone looked a little shocked at this. "They need to be signed if you want to continue from here. From here on, people will die." Even though she was still smiling, there was a very serious edge to her voice to say that she wasn't fucking around. "We don't want to be held responsible."

"That's fair," I said, loudly enough for all to hear me.

"The details of the second stage are as follows," here she handed the papers to me and in turn I created ten normal Kage Bunshins to spread out the papers. Anko paused to raise her eyebrow slightly at this before continuing. "You will participate in a survival match. I'll explain the training area's geographical features. The 44th training area is a circular region surrounded by 44 locked gate entrances. This area is mostly covered by dense forest except for a river which cuts straight through and a large tower right in the middle. The distance in a straight line from the outer permitter to the tower is 10 km."

"What the second stage consists of is a no holds competition over these two scrolls." She then pulled out the scrolls. One was black and the other was white. "The white is Heaven and the black is Earth. The goal is to gain one of each. 26 teams passed the first stage. Half will get the Heaven scroll and the other half get's the Earth scroll. You will be forced to fight to gain the opposite scroll to continue on. There is also a time limit to this stage. It's five days. Simply put, your team needs to gain the Heaven and Earth scroll and get to the tower within five days to pass. Simple right?"

"Wait! What about food?" asked Chouji in anguish.

"Scrounge it up yourself," said Anko. "The forest is a treasure trove of nature. There should be plenty of food."

"However, there are a lot of man-eating beasts, poisonous bugs and plants," supplied snakefucker.

"There's also no guarantee that 13 teams will pass. Not counting the people who will hoard multiple scrolls to make the competition easier, there will also be teams that will be unable to continue due to injury or death," I supplied.

"It seems that you understand," said Anko.

"Can we quit in the exam?" asked Shikamaru.

"No. As a rule, you cannot give up during the exam."

"Geez, man up Shika!" I called over to him.

"Tch, how troublesome," was the reply.

"Conditions of failure are as follows. If a team reaches the tower with either the unspecified scrolls, with two or less teammates, or both will fail. And finally, those of you who look inside either of the scrolls before reaching the inside of the tower will fail."

"Why can't we look inside the scrolls?" Tenten asked.

"Because there are naked pics of Gai-sensei inside," I replied loudly.

"OH MY GAWD!" she screamed in horror. Everyone who knew Gai flinched and shivered violently. However I, Dawn, Trunks, Rex and Anko began to laugh loudly.

"Ha ha ha ha ha! Naked pics of Gai! Ha ha ha! Good one kid!" laughed Anko. She then calmed herself down. "The reason you aren't allowed to look inside is that, as a Chunin, you will receive missions that require you to transport sensitive documents. So it's to determine your reliability. That is all. You will exchange three consent forms for a scroll at the hut over there." Here Anko pointed to the stall behind her. "And after picking a gate entrance, everyone will begin at the same time."

Anko then sighed heavily. "Last piece of advice. Don't die!"

(Cue Music Silence)

We then split off from each other to sign out forms. Trunks, Dawn, Rex and I walked off to the side.

"So, here we are at Stage 2," I said. "We all ready?" They nodded. "Then I guess there's not much else to do than sign and wait for Sakura and EDM."

I looked around to see Sakura and Ino get into each other again. I sighed and walked over, Trunks and Dawn following.

"Oi! You two! This ain't the time to be fighting with each other. We should be banding together as Leaf ninja rather than be divided so our enemies can pick us off one by one," I said.

Sakura sighed. "Naruto's right. This isn't the time. We should be joining forces." I blinked at her response but said nothing.

"O ho ho ho! You're agreeing with Naruto-baka? That's new," laughed Ino.

My eyes hardened. Even though I was partly Naruto in a way, I wouldn't let anyone crap on his name. I was just about to make my eyes glow and flare my Ki gently but then the unthinkable happened.

"Shut up Ino! Naruto isn't what we thought he was. And we were wrong to beat him down physically and verbally all the time. That made us bullies. I've seen how wrong I was about him. Maybe you should too," Sakura said forcefully at her past friend.

Ino was shocked to the core. Everyone was. After a few seconds Ino got over her shock and began to smirk at Sakura. "Huh? You're defending Naruto quite strongly. Maybe you like him?"

I expected Sakura to blush up angrily and deny everything loudly, but she just smiled. "Yes, I do, as a friend. Even though I have no right to be so, I hope one day I can be his friend." She said the last bit softly and sadly. However Ino couldn't take the hint.

"Sakura likes Naruto! Sakura likes Naruto!" she began to sing in an insulting way, but by then I had had enough. All my guilty feelings for almost making her cry before the first stage were gone. I then walked up to her and slapped her. It wasn't hard, but it did make an impression. I saw Shikamaru and Chouji begin to move toward us but Trunks got in their way.

"Grow up Ino," I growled at her. Her eyes were wide in shock at what I had done. "There's no call to be so insulting to my teammate." I then turned and walked away, with Trunks, Rex, Sakura and Dawn following. As soon as we had moved a reasonable distance away from Team 10, I turned to Sakura.

(Cue song Companions by Takanashi Yasuharu from NARUTO Shippuuden Original Soundtrack I)

"Thank you Sakura. That was... unexpectedly nice of you," I said, smiling kindly.

"No, no! If anything, I should be saying sorry to you. I'm sorry I was so horrible to you. I know I don't deserve it, but could you maybe give me a second chance?" asked Sakura.

"Sure. I say you've earned your second chance from standing up against Ino back there. Well done," I said with my friends nodding.

"Ok! Let's go say hello to Hinata!" I voted.

"Ditto!" Trunks and Dawn replied.

We found Hinata leaning against a tree, studying the form. I grinned as I walked up to her. "Hey Hinata! Think you understand it all?" I asked, making her jump.

"Oh! Umm... N-Naruto-kun... Uhh... I-I think s-so," she replied in her usual stuttered voice.

"I don't think you'll have much trouble with Kiba and Shino watching your back. Nobody will be able to sneak up on you. You'll do fine!" I encouraged.

She looked ready to faint again. I sighed. "You know, we're not going to have very many future talks if you keep fainting every time I say something nice to you." This seemed to have a good effect as she looked like she was focusing on not fainting. "I've got the perfect idea to help you with this. After the Chunin Exam, we hang out at my place. Spend some time together. Have fun together. It'll be me, you, Dawn, Trunks and Rex." Here she looked up to the black and white fox sitting on my head.

"U-um... is that a-a fox?" she asked, but there was no apprehension toward him.

"Yeah. He's Rex. Do you wanna pet him?" I asked. Her eyes widened and I took this as a very surprised yes. I lifted him off my head and walked closer to the Hyuga princess. I passed the fox to her and she hesitantly took him from me.

"Mmmmm, she smells nice," said Rex in fox lingo before he snuggled up against Hinata.

"Looks like Rex has taken a shine to you," I smiled as Hinata just stared at the kit in wonder. I then sat down against the tree with Dawn and Trunks sprawling on the grass next to me. In turn Hinata also sat down.

"Hinata, do you know what your problem is?" I asked. She immediately looked a little sad, probably thinking back to almost every time she heard that from someone. "Your self-belief. You need to believe in yourself."

"K-kurenai-sensei says the s-same thing," she mumbled softly. If it wasn't for my enhanced hearing, I don't think I would of picked it up.

"I guess it's hard to ignore what everyone else thinks about you. Well this should help." Here Hinata looked over to me. I looked straight into her lavender eyes. "I believe in you."

Her eyes widened. "Hey! Don't you faint on me!" I said loudly, shocking her away from conking out. I then smiled. "It's true. I believe that you hold great potential. However you can't let what other people say about you get you down."

"B-but I'm w-weak..." she replied, almost on the verge of tears.

"Then stand strong! Don't let their words weaken you. You are strong. You just have to believe you are." I then stood up. "We'll work on this some other time. Right now we have a second stage to own. C'mon guys!" I said. Rex gave Hinata a lick on the cheek before jumping out of her arms and bounding up to his usual spot on my head. We then walked away to leave Hinata alone with her thoughts.

(Cue song Confronting by Takanashi Yasuharu from NARUTO Shippuuden Original Soundtrack I)

"Ok everyone! It's time to trade your forms for a scroll!" called a proctor from the stall. Everyone then began to line up for a scroll. Eventually it was Team 7's turn. We received a Heaven scroll. In turn I slipped it inside my jacket with the other scrolls.

"We ready team?" I asked.

"Yeah!" replied Sakura.

EDM just nodded.

"Ok. Dawn and Trunks will be coming along with us but they will not be helping us in any way. They're just along for the company. No offence Sasuke but you're just as likely to bond with us than you are to forgive your brother." Sasuke glared but said nothing.

"Ok! Let's go to our designated gate then," I said.

A few minutes later we had found our gate, no.9. We didn't need to walk far. We waited for half an hour. About half a minute before the start, our proctor unlocked our gate and stood ready to open it on time. I, in turn took out my bandana from my pocket and tied it around my bright hair. Then the proctor opened the gate and we immediately sped inside. Almost instantly the light darkened as we made our way into the forest.

After twenty minutes, the first screams pierced the air.

(Cue song Yellow Planet by Steve Jablonsky, Trevor Morris from Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars)

"That was... someone's scream, right?" asked Sakura nervously.

"Focus Sakura," I said.

"R-right!"

I then grinned. I smelt one new scent nearby. It was the Ame ninja Naruto and co bumped into from the anime. I activated my Ki and Ki stepped behind the ninja, grabbed him by the shirt and placed White Requiem at his throat.

"Now be a good little Ame ninja and walk out with me," I said, using chakra to lay a faint demonic overlay to my voice. We then walked out of the bushes slowly and appeared in front of my friends and team.

"Guess what I caught. A lost little Ame ninja without his buddies. Sakura, do you think you could check his pack for the scroll?" I asked. She nodded and got to work. She found a scroll, but it was a white one. I then removed the sword and bonked him on the head with the pummel. He was out like a light.

"Well we can always trade a black scroll for this. Either that or we'll prevent one team, from the projected 13 who will pass, from passing," I said. "Let's continue on." I began to move away but then remembered something.

"Oh, that's right. If we ever get separated, then we need a password, to confirm that we are who we say we are." I then squatted on the ground and indicated my teammates do the same.

"What do you mean?" asked Sakura.

"An enemy might use an opportunity to impersonate one of us who is missing with Henge. Therefore we need to either say or do something that only we know or can do." While I said this, I wrote in the dirt, _Someone's listening in on us._

"So I'll say the name of my sword, White Requiem / _I'll flare my energy_."

"I'll recite the first verse of the ninja song 'Ninki' / _I'll name the new Wave bridge_," said/wrote Sakura.

"And I'll name my... nickname / _I'll flash my Sharingan_," said/wrote Sasuke.

"Ok then!" I said as I placed the second Heaven scroll into my jacket. "I'll continue to hold onto the scrolls as I'm Team Capitan. I think we should-" At that moment a small stinging sensation broke out on my cheek. I looked at my friends and they nodded. We then pulled Sasuke and Sakura behind thick trees, and not a moment too soon as seconds later a heavy blast of chakra laden wind smashed past us. However we were still all together.

"Guys, I'm going to go and hide. If our enemy thinks that one of us is gone, then they'll use this chance to infiltrate as the missing one. Then we can ambush them and steal their scroll," I said. Seeing my friends nod, I summoned Hidden Avenger out of view from Sakura and Sasuke, and activated the stealth cloak without activating the blade. I then slowly crawled out of the bushes that everyone was hiding in, created a Neo clone of me and sent it into the horizontal vortex of wind. The clone was swept up and send careering away by the wind.

After about ten minutes from when the wind died down, another me walked into the clearing and met up with my team and friends. I knew that this guy was Orochimaru.

'Here we go. Gay alert,' I grinned to myself as I watched the scene unfold.

"Wait! What's your password?" asked Dawn.

'Naruto' grinned. "White Requiem."

(Cue song Qunari On The Rise by Inon Zur from Dragon Age II Soundtrack Signature Edition)

"Wrong bitch!" growled Trunks who unsheathed his sword and slashed at 'Naruto' who in turn slithered out of the way quickly. I then decided to show myself.

"We got you good," I said as I stepped out from behind a tree after deactivating the cloak. "We knew that your little wind tunnel was a trap, so we set one for ourselves. We knew that if one of us were to 'disappear', you would henge into the missing team member and approach us."

At first 'Naruto' looked quite surprised from this little bit of info, and I took pride in the fact that I surprised Orochimaru. The guy took creepy to the extreme and beyond, but he was good at what he did. Then he smiled sickly.

"Well done. You figured it out. I would of expected this from Sasuke-kun, but you? No I did not expect this," Orochimaru said that had me shivering slightly from his voice. Then a cloud of white smoke enveloped him and what appeared out of the smoke was his disguise as one of the members of the Grass ninja team.

"Man!" I said as I walked up to stand beside my friends. "If I saw myself in clothes like that I'd have to kick my own ass." Dawn giggled and Trunks smirked. Orochimaru just looked coldly at me.

"So what now? What are you going to do?" I asked.

"What you ask? This!" Here he looked at us and projected a picture of our deaths. At least he did for Sasuke and Sakura. It didn't work for Dawn, Trunks, Rex and I. However we had worked this out the night before the Chunin Exams began. I wasn't going to interfere with Orochimaru marking Sasuke. This technique simply gave me a viable cover. So we pretended to be frozen as Orochimaru's head extended and bit down on Sasuke's exposed neck. Almost as soon as he had bit down, his head withdrew and so did the freezing effect on Sakura. Sasuke, of course, began to scream in pain.

'Ouch! That looks painful. Well better you than me,' I thought to myself.

"What... what did you do to Sasuke-kun?" yelled Sakura.

"I just gave him a going away present. Sasuke-kun will seek me out. He will seek me out for power," Orochimaru said as he slowly faded away from view. Then he was gone.

I instantly walked over to Sakura and EDM, who was out cold. "OK, Sakura. Let's get ourselves away from here and find us a nice place to rest for the night." I began to bend over to grab Sasuke, but a high-pitched scream shot through the area. It was close by, followed by some loud inhuman roars that seemed to shake the ground.

"That was Ino!" exclaimed Sakura, her eyes widened in fear.

Immediately I created a supercharged Neo Clone. "Take Sasuke and Sakura and find a safe place to bunk down for a while." The clone nodded. I then turned to Sakura. "I'll go find Team 10 and bring them back to you for safety." She nodded. "Be careful," she said.

"Hey, it's me," I grinned before my clone led them away from the area. I turned to my friends. "Let's go!" I said in my commander voice.

"Yes Commander," replied Trunks in his no-nonsense voice.

"Right behind you," added Dawn. We then took off in the direction of the scream.

* * *

Omake:

"The reason you aren't allowed to look inside is that, as a Chunin, you will receive missions that require you to transport sensitive documents. So it's to determine your reliability. That is all. You will exchange three consent forms for a scroll at the hut over there." Here Anko pointed to the stall behind her. "And after picking a gate entrance, everyone will begin at the same time."

Anko then sighed heavily. "Any questions?"

"SasuNaru forever!" yelled a random girl.

"Kill that fucking bitch right now!" I screamed before I ripped the summoning gun away from Trunks and began firing the weapon wildly, summoning most of all the high class Kitsunés in the army to my feet.

"What is your command?" asked Kaiden who was at the head.

"I want that bitch," here I pointed at the girl in question, "torn to shreds! No one says that shit in my presence!" I roared.

"HAI COMMANDER!" replied the collective summons before they converged on the girl, grabbed her and then disappeared to perform nasty off screen torture.

* * *

Omake 2

"You know, boys like you die the fastest," said Anko as she smiled sweetly at me.

I just smiled back before my smile turned into a sexy grin and I began to stream chakra into my eyes, making them glow. The result was quite intimidating if the reactions to those around me were anything to go by.

"Maybe you should test me Anko-chan," I said in my super sexy growly voice that I reserved mostly for bedroom talk. She grinned back. "Looks like there are a few hot-headed ninjas here today."

"Would you like to see what other areas of me that are hot?" This got a shocked reaction out of her. To my knowledge, Anko had never been bested in sexual verbal jousting. This was probably a new experience for her. However she simply nodded in acknowledgement, mumbled, "Touché," and moved on.

***With Irika***

Iruka paused in mid-lecture to Konohamaru's class. 'Why do I feel like someone is ripping me off?'

(AN: Second Omake is in reference to 'Naruto: The Abridged Series' by MasakoX and Vegeta3986 posted on YouTube. Those two deserve some sex!)


	17. Chapter 17: The Second Task  Part 2

Chapter 17: The Second Task - Part 2

(Cue song Clumsy Expression by Haruki Yamada from Dynasty Warriors 7 Soundtrack)

Trunks, Dawn and I streaked through the forest at full speed. Both my friends were keeping up with me easily enough. Even Rex, who was jumping from branch to branch next to me.

"Rex! What can you tell me of what we're going into?" I asked, still in my Commander Kitsuné tone.

"Sir! I smell three humans, one female and two male, facing off against some sort of demon. Still not sure on what type the demon is, but I'm guessing it's between a C and B-class," replied Rex.

"Very well. Good job," I said as we came up on the area where Team 10 was. We stopped at the edge and looking into what was going on.

At one end was Team 10. Shikamaru was looking horrified and Chouji was completely petrified. But Ino was nonresponsive. Her eyes were wide, mouth open and her body was twitching in absolute fear. She also looking like she had been roughed up somewhat. In several places her clothes were torn. The bandages on her legs had been ripped off with only a few stray ends hanging off. A few slits were shown on the upper purple clothing, but other than that and a few small cuts, she was fine. Physically anyway. And on the other side was the object of their fears.

It was almost immediately identifiable from the purple skin, the golden mane, the two long horns and the fact that the beast stood on its hind feet. It was a Behemoth from Final Fantasy X. What it lacked in technique, it made up for in pure brute strength. I didn't need to scan it to see what it was capable of.

"Ok, let's get in there!" I said and we lunged at it as the demon prepared to charge at Team 10.

]-Ino's POV-[

I hadn't been so scared in my life. I had no idea what this thing was, or why it was here. The monster had taken us by surprise as we were trying to find a team to ambush. I was able to avoid most of the surprise attack but still gained several cuts and gashes. I stiffened up as the things eyes locked with mine. I desperately wanted to look away, to run away. But I couldn't move. I was too scared.

I couldn't do anything as the beast lunged forward, intent on clawing my life up. I screamed.

And then a speeding black and white blur struck the beast away and came to a stop in front of me.

"Hey Ino, you ok?"

I looked up to see that it was...

]-Normal POV-[

"Naruto?" Ino asked in disbelief.

"I believe so," I said, lightly grinning.

"How?"

"As much as I want to tell you, the Behemoth isn't dead yet. You just sit back and enjoy the show while I kick it's ass," I said gently before I turned to my friends. "I've got this. I've been itching to let loose for a while." I then sped towards the small hill of muscle, bone and teeth.

The demon roared and charged at me on all fours, intent on burying it's horns into me. But it was going to be disappointed as I rolled to the left with my sword out to the side, slicing through the Behemoth's flesh. A large amount of blood spewed out of the gash in the side, thankfully none on me. I jumped away but underestimated how much fight it still had left.

The demon swung around on its hind legs and proceeded to attack quickly with its front claws. In response I drained the gravity seal of all the chakra stored inside and dodged all the swipes with ease. The Behemoth jumped back and blue and green energy flared around it. I activated my Ki steps just in time to dodge a strong lightning bolt descending from the heavens.

"Whoah! That Thundara was close," I muttered to myself before I placed White Requiem on my back and held out both my hands. Instantly two miniature cyclone balls of blue chakra were constructed in each one. Wind and dust began to circulate around me as I powered up the jutsus in my hand. I then Ki stepped over to the demon and rammed the Dual Rasengan into the Behemoth's chest, shouting out the name of the jutsu as I did. The monster was blown all the way across the clearing and slammed hard into a large tree, knocking it over.

"Booya!" I crowed out. "Now it's time to finish it!" I drew White Requiem and began to flow Ki energy into my sword until it was glowing. But instead of calling out the name of the jutsu, 'Ikkyu Nyuu Kon' I grinned and yelled. "IMA CHARGIN' MAH LAEZARRRR!" I then slammed the sword down into the ground and a large light blue and white beam of energy shot towards the Behemoth. Already weakened from the initial two attacks, it wasn't able to dodge out of the way. And so the beam slammed into the demon and proceeded to vaporise the remains as the beam continued onwards for another 5 kilometres, creating a large trench in its wake.

"BOOOOOOOOYAAAAAAAAAA!" I repeated with more enthusiasm. "Now that's what I call an ass kicking!"

"Nice job!" congratulated Dawn as she walked up and kissed me.

"Very nice strategy you used," added Trunks who came up to stand beside me.

I turned to see that Team 10 was still in shock. They were all looking at me in total awe. "C'mon guys. Let's get Team 10 to a safe place," I said.

* * *

(Cue music silence)

"Sakura? We have some guests!" I called over to her as we touched down in the small clearing with the large tree at the end. The tree was special in that the large and thick roots began to spread out before they had a chance to enter the soil. So there was a small cave big enough for several people to comfortably lie in. Sakura peeped her head out to see us walk towards us.

"Stop! Your password please," she said, serious.

I nodded and flared my energy. "I can vouch for the others as well."

Sakura nodded before a look of relief crossed her face. "I'm glad you're here Naruto."

I smiled back. "Nice to see you remembered to ask for the password," I replied, feeling pride for her. She beamed back. I ducked inside and made my way to the back, next to Sasuke, who was still out cold.

"Any change?" I asked. Sakura shook her head sadly.

"Do you know what's wrong with Sasuke-kun?" she asked.

"Looks to me that the Grass ninja placed some sort of seal on him. The reason Sasuke is still sleeping is because his body is adjusting to it and can do so quicker when he's out of it," I replied.

"Can you remove it?" she asked.

"No. At least, not yet. I recognise the seal. And there's only one person I know of that is capable of doing and would intentionally do it. And that's Orochimaru," I said, dead serious.

(Cue song Genius Scientist Cid by Akifumi Tada from Final Fantasy: Unlimited OST)

"I've heard that name before," she replied.

"Orochimaru is one of the three Sannin that worked under Sarutobi, our current Hokage. He defected some time after Minato Namikaze became the Yondaime Hokage. I recognise the seal because there is one record of it being used before his defection. It hasn't been removed since there is no known way of removing it. It's called the Cursed Seal of Heaven. What it does is make the user think that there is a vast amount of chakra to be used inside them; more that what they had previously. This is an illusion as the seal only forcibly pushes the users chakra out. The seal also corrupts the chakra and the free will of the user, though only through the use of the seal. While inactive, there is no threat. The seal also has some of Orochimaru's chakra inside which is where the seal get's it's corrupting nature." By the end of my explanation, Sakura and Team 10 were shocked.

"How do you know all this?" asked Ino.

"I'm training to be a Seal Master. I learned of this seal in my studies," I said.

"You? Studying? Ha!" laughed Ino. I looked at her in an exasperated way. "Contrary to popular belief, I do study."

"It's true," said Sakura. "I wouldn't be half the Kunoichi I am right now if it wasn't for Naruto helping me in training."

"This is all very nice, but what do we do now?" asked Shikamaru.

"Well you're very welcome to stay and recuperate before you head out. By the way," I added as I pulled out one of the Scrolls of Heaven. "Do you need this? We have an extra and, well, Konoha ninja need to look out for each other." I held it out to Shikamaru. He hesitated before nodding and taking the scroll. "Thanks," he said.

"Not a problem. Because with your genius mind there is no way you are going to, how did you put it? Marry a regular girl who isn't too ugly and not too pretty. Have two children, first a girl, then a boy. Retire after your daughter is married and your son becomes a successful ninja, and spend the rest of your life playing shogi or go. Then die of old age before your wife." I laughed out loud as he looked completely shocked that I had repeated his intro to Asuma verbatim.

"Tch, how troublesome," was his witty remark. "Well I guess we'll stay here for a while."

"Good choice. It will be a while till Sasuke recovers." I then focused some youki onto my hand and used the summoning jutsu. When the smoke cleared away, there sat 20 small two tailed kits, all with dark brown, black or dark green fur.

"It is an honour to be summoned by you Commander," said the kit who looked to be the leader. He had a strong British accent.

"Jeremy?" asked Rex as he stepped forward.

"Rex! How are you my friend?" asked the leader called Jeremy.

"I'm good. I'm the Commander's mascot!" he said proudly. Jeremy looked a little confused so I quickly intervened before things got embarrassing.

"Your rank Jeremy?" I asked.

"Sergeant First Class Jeremy of 1st Platoon First Class Apprentice Scouts of Apprentice Scout Battalion reporting, sir!" the fox said.

"You are to take your troops and create a perimeter 70 meters in a circle from this point. When a breach occurs, do not engage. Just report back without being seen," I ordered.

"Yes sir!" said Sergeant Jeremy before turning to his subordinates and relaying the orders to them in varying yips. They all nodded and bounded into the bush.

I turned around to see everyone minus Dawn and Trunks looking at me strangely. Oh, and Sasuke, but he wasn't going to be doing much these next few hours.

"What?" I asked.

"What was that you just did?" asked Chouji.

(Cue song Interlude by Senju Akira from Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Original Soundtrack 1)

"It's called summoning," I said as I fished out one of my food scrolls and unsealed several packets of potato and corn chips. I chucked one to Chouji, who looked like he was on the verge of kissing me. I just turned away and passed the remainder to the others and my friends. I opened a small one completely up and placed it in front of Rex.

"Well," I said as I settled down with my own bag of Cheese Supreme corn chips. "How bout we get to know each other on a more personal level."

"How do you mean? We already know each other from the Academy?" asked Ino.

"So? Just because we were in the same classes together, doesn't mean we know things like favourite colour, what we want to accomplish in our life, which hot girl, or guy, we're eyeing. You know, things like that." I then looked at Shikamaru. "You first."

The lazy genius grunted. "You already know what I want to do in my life."

"Well then, what's your favourite colour?"

"Blue and white."

"Clouds in the sky kind of colours?"

Shikamaru nodded.

"Well, is there any girls that have taken your interest?"

"No."

"Any guys?" I grinned. Shikamaru opened his mouth to probably protest, but saw the shit eating grin on my face. "Funny," he deadpanned.

"Isn't it?" I replied, continuing to grin.

"Naruto, be nice," said Dawn.

"Why? Are you going to spank me?" I countered in that super sexy growly voice.

"I just might."

"I just might let you."

Trunks blinked. "Wow, a triple touché. Don't hear one of those every day."

"So have you two really had..." Ino seemed incapable of finishing.

"Sex?" I asked innocently. Her face instantly reddened up, along with Shikamaru's, Chouji's and Sakura's. "Yes, Yamanaka, we have done the deed several times."

"H... how was..." again she lacked the maturity to continue.

"How was it?" I asked. "I think that's a rather personal question, don't you think?"

"But you are the one who wanted to talk about personal things?" she pointed out.

"True, but why do you want to know? Planning on doing it yourself?"

"No!" she said loudly. "I was just curious to what it felt like?"

"Well since I'm not a woman, maybe you should ask Dawn for this information. The question is, will she give it?"

Dawn shook her head. "That's too personal. If you were one of Naruto's chosen lovers, then I wouldn't mind telling but..."

"Wait! What? _One_ of his lovers? What the hell?" Ino asked.

"Well since I have unlocked a brand spanking new bloodline limit, a rule is set in motion. For the purpose of reviving a clan on the brink of extinction, the clan head is required to take on multiple wives. This is an actual Konoha law. It's called the Clan Restoration Act, or CRA for short," I explained.

"And you don't have a problem with this?" Sakura asked Dawn, completely abashed.

"Why would I have a problem with this? You hu... people are too possessive sometimes. Isn't it better to share such a fabulous lover and boyfriend around and create strong bonds with many people than keeping it all to yourself. You shouldn't think of it as a harem. Instead it's like a large and very happy family. I would much rather be a part of something like that then what your suggesting. And if anyone is capable of loving multiple girls equally and cherish each one with the same love and devotion, it would be this man," Dawn said, reaching out to wrap her arm around me. This was the first time she had expressed her feelings in such detail on this subject. I was glad she felt like this. I felt much the same way.

We were silent for a few minutes.

"So how are you able to summon foxes?" asked Shikamaru.

"Dawn here was the previous owner of the Fox Summoning Contract. She let me sign it and since then I've been in charge of the contract," I explained as a white lie. It was basically the same, just with different facts.

"And the reason they call you Commander is...?"

"Because unlike most other animal summoning clans, the foxes are much more militaristic than the others. I am considered their Commander."

"Right."

"What about how you got all those packs of chips out of that scroll?" asked Ino, sounding a little more respectful toward me. I was thankful for this, however I didn't want her to switch her fan-girl allegiance from Sasuke to me. She was cute, but she wasn't my type, personality wise.

"That's known as Fúinjutsu, the Art of Sealing. An ancient art that many people disregard in favour of ninjutsu nowadays. It's the process of sealing something inside a series of written or painted seals. They can be painted on anything; paper, a wall, a kunai and even on skin. The types of things that can be sealed are many. Food in whatever form can be sealed into a scroll for later consumption. The food is kept in stasis and therefore does not go off or rotten. You can cook a hot meal, seal it, and when you unseal it a year later, providing the seal is still undamaged, the steam is still wafting off the food.

"Then there are seals known as Gravity seals. They can multiply the gravity you feel over several times to improve muscle mass and speed reaction. They work the same as weights, but are much better. Say you are in a fight and your adversary is faster than you. With weights you would have to distance yourself and remove the weights, which takes several seconds. Precious time wasted. With seals, all that's needed is to release the chakra inside the seals. No time wasted. Right now I am working under 15 times normal gravity. That means my body weighs roughly 930kg."

A few gasps of shock were uttered by those around me. "You can't withstand that weight! You'd be ripped apart," said Shikamaru.

"Not really. Lee trains with roughly 700kg weights on each leg, totalling out at 1400kg," I explained. Team 10 and Sakura were bug eyed now.

"Seals can also store elemental jutsu inside them. For example, at night, an assassin is trying to sneak up on you. They pass a seal placed on a tree that's designed to shoot multiple fireballs at them, or create a wall of electricity at the assassin. Weapons can also be sealed. You appear to be unarmed but then you stream chakra into a seal that's been written on the palm of your hand. When you do so a weapon appears in your hand. Tenten of Team Gai, Lee's teammate, uses scrolls with a multitude of weapons sealed inside since she is a mistress of using any type of weapon.

"And finally, there are the Exploding Tags that you normally use. That's done with Fúinjutsu. There are many other uses for seals, but I've covered the most used ways of using Fúinjutsu," I finished off.

"You know quite a lot Naruto," replied Chouji.

"Well if I am going to be a Fúinjutsu Master then I need to know these things," I said.

"What about that jutsu you used against that monster that attacked us?" Shikamaru asked.

"I used three. Which one were you talking about?"

"Well firstly the one where you disappeared and then reappeared in a flash?" he asked. "Is it the Shunshin?"

"No. It's faster than that. In my training with Kakashi, he told me of the famous Hiraishin. I was able to create a scaled down version through the use of my bloodline limit. It's called Ki Step. Does the same thing as the Hiraishin, but it's short range only." I grinned at him. "I won't tell you the limitations of using the jutsu as we might go up against each other in the Third Exam."

"What about those blue chakra spheres you were holding?" asked Ino.

"This was taught to me by Kakashi," I lied. "It's called the Rasengan and, along with the Hiraishin, was the Fourth's signature move. It's created with the highest skill of Chakra Shape Transformation. It's A-rank and it's short range as you can't throw it because it would lose the form almost instantly."

"And the last jutsu I used is called Ikkyu Nyu Kon. Another jutsu powered by my bloodline. I charge Ki energy into my sword and then slam it onto the ground, releasing the energy. This creates a massive beam that shoots in the direction I slammed the sword in."

"What is Ki energy?" Shikamaru asked.

"It's like chakra, but doesn't lose it's from away from the body. I can create a ball of Ki and then throw it and the energy will continue to exist in that form for a few minutes unless it comes into contact with someone or something. Then it will explode, the strength depending on the size of the ball."

"Wow..." mumbled Chouji.

(Cue song Beyond the Wasteland - FFVII ACC Version by Kenichiro Fukui from Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete Reunion Tracks)

At that point Sergeant First Class Jeremy scampered inside. He stopped in front of me and saluted. "Commander, the perimeter is breached."

"Looks like we've got a fight on our hands. I'd prefer if you guys stay out of this fight. You'd just get in the way. You can watch though," I addressed Team 10. "Sakura, keep an eye on Sasuke. Let me know when he wakes up." The pink haired kunoichi nodded. I then turned to Dawn and Trunks. "Let's go." They nodded and followed me out from the tree and into the open clearing. We stood guard at the entrance and waited.

Eventually three beings jumped down from the trees and stood facing us. It was Team Dosu, the Sound ninja. The leader, Dosu Kinuta, had bandages covering most of his face, leaving only his left eye uncovered. He also wore a large poncho with long sleeves, a snake patterned scarf around his neck, a straw raincoat protruding from the back of his scarf, and a large amplifier on his right arm used for most of his attacks. His back was hunched, making him look smaller than he actually was.

The second member, Zaku Abumi, had spiky, dark hair and dark eyes. He wore a beige shirt with two black stripes and three prints of the kanji for death down the front. His forehead protector had a face guard, resembling Yamato's, albeit more worn and under the cloth rather than connected to the metal plate. He also wore a snake patterned scarf around his neck like Dosu.

And then there was Kin Tsuchi, the third and only female of the team. She had very long black hair, almost reaching down to the ground, tied by a violet ribbon right near the end, and black eyes. She wore her forehead protector, a pale green vest somewhat similar to a flak jacket, and snake patterned pants and scarf, much like her team-mates. She was also quite beautiful. She had smooth looking skin and her curves were developing well. The only thing ruining her looks was that she had a superior looking smirk on her face. But, knowing what she would become in the near future, I decided then and there that I would save her from that fate.

"Good afternoon," I said pleasantly. "What can we do for you?"

"We're here for Sasuke Uchiha," said Dosu.

"I'm sorry but Sasuke is unavailable. Can I take a message?" I replied in the same pleasant voice from before.

Zaku simply raised his arm and pointed his open palm at me. "Sure! Here's the message. Decapitating Airwaves!" A sudden blast of air was sent at us. In response I withdrew White Requiem, saturated it in Ki and delivered an upper cut slash while releasing the energy. The result was creating the same blue slicing shockwave I used in my battle with Zabuza on the Bridge of Good Hope. The wave sliced through the attack, separating it and parting the two halves away from the tree behind us. The wind tore through the trees to the sides of us.

"Now that was rude," I commented as if I was telling of a child. I then Ki stepped behind Kin, bound her in ninja wire I nicked from Sasuke's items pouch and then Ki stepped back to my original position, all in the space of two seconds. She struggled slightly, but I pressed the edge of my sword to her throat. She stilled instantly.

"Now here's what's going to happen. I give her back and you walk away from this. So what do you say?"

Dosu, predictably, just grinned. Or seemed to grin. It was somewhat hard to tell underneath those bandages. "You really think we care about that weakling? She shouldn't of allowed herself to be captured so quickly." Dosu and Zaku then both got ready to attack. Judging from the gasp of surprise and betrayal I heard from Kin, I deducted that she was taken off guard from this info.

"We've got this baby," said Dawn as she and Trunks unsheathed their swords and got into their respective kenjutsu stances.

"Be my guests. I've already had my fun today. It's only fair you two get something out of it," I replied. They nodded before dashing toward their adversaries quickly.

]-Dawn's fight scene in Third POV-[

(Cue song Summertime Killer by Luis E. Bacalov from Kill Bill Vol. 2)

Dawn's ninjato was out in a flash, the point leading her posture. Dosu blinked slightly at the perfection the blade held in its gaze. His eyes then wandered over the girl who was using the sword and he grinned lustfully. She was a real piece of work.

"Nice stance," Dosu leered. "Can you do more than look pretty?"

His attitude started to diminish as the sound of something dripping onto the ground hit his ear. It was about this time that he felt a trail of wetness sliding down his jaw. "H-how did you-"

There was a minute ringing noise- very subtle, so high in pitch and gentle that Dosu didn't think anyone not from Oto would notice it. Dawn stood before him, in the same- 'No, NOT the same,'he thought to himself. 'The sword moved a little?'

The bandage covering his nose parted suddenly, and a thin trickle of blood trailed down over his upper lip. "You..."

"It's called Zanmatou, 'the sword that beheads evil'," The blade seemed to twitch in her hands. A stinging was starting to issue from the first nick under his ear; Dosu began backpedalling frantically. Another line of blood began trailing from above Dosu's eye.

"W-wait I-" Something impacted against one of his front teeth, and his tongue stopped working. Something hard and jagged was on the back of his tongue, and he gagged- spitting, a tooth landed on the ground in front of him in a mix of blood and saliva.

"Your eyes wandered over my body as I stood against you. I forgive you of this action as most guys cannot help it," Dawn said, walking forward a step.

The blade seemed barely to move as she walked, but lines of shallow cuts appeared across Dosu's body with each step she took. The pattering of blood dripping onto the ground was beginning to sound like a drum roll in Dosu's ears as firey stinging began erupting across his body, death by a thousand cuts. "Your attitude is arrogant and cruel. And that is something I dislike."

There was a sudden pain in his left eye, as his vision on that side suddenly erupted into red. His hand flew to his face but the blade twitched again, and a finger fell away to the ground. Blood was spattering now- Dosu hadn't even had the chance to bring the melody arm into play, and the growing weakness in his arms made it doubtful that he'd get the chance. "And even after this, Orochimaru will just use you and throw you away. Sucks to be you."

Dosu's head was spinning, his body was burning all over. His masking bandages were hanging in blood sodden strips, his face revealed to the world, as he staggered backwards, trying to regain his bearings. His tongue flopped uselessly, and attempting to speak only made him gag and cough out sprays of bloody spit.

"And now it's time to say goodnight," Dawn said, and the blade stopped a fraction of an inch from Dosu's right eye. Dosu froze, and his involuntary blink made his eye lashes touch against the point of the long ninjato. He collapsed backwards, his legs like water and his arms aching from terror and weakness. Then Dawn disappeared and Dosu's world was thrown into darkness.

Dawn flicked her ninjato to the side, a reflexive action meant to clear the blade of blood before returning it to its sheath, but there was no blood on the blade. Then the wounds on Dosu melted away revealing the Oto ninja to be completely unharmed.

"Genjutsu, you gotta love it!" Dawn grinned in victory. She then sheathed her weapon. She was very capable of what Dosu just saw and so much more, but she had learned that it was not necessary to kill or maim unless necessary. This she had learned on the Bridge of Good Hope when Josh refused to kill Gato's army and simply knocked them out.

]-Trunk's battle-[

(Cue song Trunks Appears by Bruce Faulconer from The Best of Dragon Ball Z, Vol. III)

As Zaku and Trunks stood opposite one another, the two warrior's simply stared at each other, waiting for whoever would strike first.

After a few minutes Zaku decided to make the first move, where he quickly took out a Kunai and threw it at Trunks, where it travelled with impressive speed.

Unafraid of the incoming Kunai, Trunks remained perfectly still, where just as the Kunai was to hit him right in the head, he drew his sword and sliced through the incoming weapon with ease. Like a hot knife through butter. The two pieces separated from each other and sped past his head.

Seeing how easily Trunks 'deflected' the kunai, Zaku narrowed his eyes with annoyance, which only grew when he saw a confident grin appear on Trunk's face as he spoke.

"I really hope that isn't the best you can do, because if it is… then you've better give up now…you can't win."

Angered by what Trunks just said, Zaku quickly took out several dozen Shurikens, "We'll see about that…take this!" he cried, after which he threw all his Shurikens at once.

Seeing the wave of Shurikens flying towards him, Trunks simply brought up his sword and in a show of impressive skill sliced through each and every Shuriken aimed at him, without a single piece of shrapnel hitting him.

Zaku gnashed his teeth in frustration at seeing how Trunks was toying with him.

"Looks like you're running out of tricks" spoke Trunks with the same confident grin, which further infuriated Zaku.

"Ok, that's two tries. I'm going to give you one more chance to hit me with everything that you got and then it's strike three, you're out," said Trunks.

Narrowing his one visible eye at this comment, Zaku brought up his left arm and roared out "**Zankūha** (Decapitating Airwaves)!" where a massive blast of air exploded from the tubes implanted in his arms.

But instead of hitting Trunks the air blast passed right through the Kitsuné, as if he wasn't even there, much to the surprise and confusion of Zaku, after which "Trunks" simple faded away.

"What the hell! Did he use some kind of Clone technique" spoke the confused Oto-nin out loud.

"Actually that was a simple after-image effect" spoke Trunk from behind Zaku.

After hearing his voice, Zaku quickly spun around to face the young man and found him standing only a few feet away.

Acting quickly, Zaku quickly brought up both his arms forward again and cried out "**Zankūkyokuha** (Extreme Decapitating Airwaves)!", after which a massive gust of wind embedded with slicing wind blades, exploded from both his arms and destroyed a large portion of the area.

Thinking he finally killed Trunks, Zaku sneered in victory and lowered his arms.

Unfortunately unknown to Zaku, Trunks had avoided the explosion at the last second and reappeared right behind Zaku.

"Game over," whispered Trunks.

Zaku's eyes widened before his vision faded to blackness as Trunks raped the hard handle of his sword on the Oto nin's head.

]-First POV-[

(Cue song Mist by Senju Akira from Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Original Soundtrack 1)

As I looked at the unconscious forms of Dozu and Zaku on the forest floor, I smiled. "Nice work you two! You've really improved over the last month," I congratulated my best friend and girlfriend. They mirrored my smile and walked over to me. "And I'm glad you didn't kill them. There was no point. Though I wonder if we should've done so since we know what will be done with them later."

"Ok Rex, can you cast a genjutsu over them that will last until the exam is over?" I asked.

"Sure thing mister Commander!" replied Rex in enthusiasm. He then focused his sight on the two unconscious Sound ninja and his eyes glowed softly for a few seconds before dying out. "All done! They will sleep until the Second exam is finished," he reported.

"Good job!" I replied. "Now for you Miss. Sound Kunoichi." At this Kin stiffened in my grip. "I just want to ask you a few questions, and I want you to be completely truthful in your answers. And if you're worried about a certain someone overhearing your answer, then don't worry," I said in a voice that would be heard commenting on the weather. I paused at this and she nodded slightly.

"Ok. First question. If you had the opportunity to escape from Orochimaru and the Sound alive, and continue to live afterwards, would you take it?" As I spoke the question, Dawn moved to look directly into Kin's eyes.

Kin was silent for a few seconds before she replied, "Yes." Dawn nodded at me, indicating that it was the truth.

"Good. Second question. Do you have any positive emotions towards Orochimaru." Here she said no quite strongly. Again Dawn nodded.

"You're doing very well. The next question is this. If you had an invitation to join a clan who would treat you right and take care of you, would you take it?"

Again she nodded. And again Dawn nodded with her.

"Good. Last question. Will you join my clan, the Kitsuné Clan?" Here Kin paused as she seemed to think over the opportunity she was given. However, after a minute of silence, she nodded. Dawn looked at me and smiled.

"Rex, cast a genjutsu over Kin here to keep her asleep until manually deactivated," I ordered.

"Yes Mister Commander!" he replied before focusing his sight on Kin. I felt the girl relax and removed the sword from her throat, cut the ninja wire away and laid her now sleeping form on the ground. I then focused on a picture of a certain fox in my mind and did a summoning jutsu. After the smoke had cleared, there stood Cloud, one of the Kitsuné guards from my Chateau.

"Cloud, take her back to the Kitsuné Chateau and lay her in a spare bedroom," I ordered.

"Yes, Commander," he nodded before picking up Kin and disappearing in a cloud of white smoke.

* * *

(AN: Trunk's fight was written by Aragorn Potter. Dawn's fight was written by Axenome. Both were edited my me, Commander Kitsuné. Many thanks to these authors for helping me with writing battles as I'm not very good at that, unless describing a fight I've seen visually. Remember to review and check out Aragorn Potter and Axenome's stories. Plus, if you are wondering how sharp Trunk's Odin is, then watch Raiden slice away at everything in the Metal Gear Solid: Rising trailer shown at E3 2010.)


	18. Chapter 18: Knockout

**Chapter 18: Knockout**

The next few days went by easily enough. After Team 10 had recovered enough and Sasuke had woken up, we made our way toward the tower. The journey took over the course of the whole morning and so we arrived at the tower at midday of the second day. We then split, entered the tower, used the summoning scrolls, met up with Iruka and then were escorted to our rooms to wait out the rest of the exam.

"So now what?" asked Trunks, looking around the room we were given. It was quite Spartan, with three beds, a couch and two comfy chairs. The walls, ground and ceiling was simply concrete with no carpet or anything like that. Sasuke and Sakura were in another room. Well Sakura was. Sasuke instantly vacated the area, not wanting to be anywhere alone with Sakura. Understandable.

"Well, let's see if Team 8 has arrived yet," I replied. So we walked down the stairs to the bottom floor, but there was no sign of Team 8 so far.

"So why did you let Orochimaru tag Sasuke with his demonic hikky?" asked Trunks.

"Because that's a major point in the timeline. If done any differently, then the ensuing differences would of been hell to predict. At least by continuing along the path that I know, I can prevent too much collateral damage," I explained. "For example. This Sound/Sand invasion that's coming up. By warning people that I can trust, Konoha won't be so weakened afterwards. In fact, if we plan correctly, we can prevent anyone dying from the assault."

"I see. But what about the Sharingan? Aren't we trying to keep it away from Orochimaru?"

"Sasuke won't let it get that far," I replied. "He may be a selfish asshole, but if there is one thing we can count on him to do, will be to keep the Sharingan out of his hands. When Sasuke eventually defects, we need to stall him long enough for Orochimaru to seek another body. Three years later, Sasuke will attack Orochimaru and prevent the snake from taking over his body." I then sighed. "Of course then he'll kill Itachi and become Madara's pet Uchiha to destroy Konoha. I wonder if I can get Itachi to join my clan." The last part I was more or less mumbling to myself.

* * *

For the next day we chatted amongst ourselves until Team 8 made their appearance.

"Hey guys!" I called to them.

"Oh man! Naruto's team beat us to it!" whined Kiba. Clearly he was hoping to be the first Leaf team to arrive at the tower.

"Team 10 arrived at the same time as us," I supplied.

"Shit!" Kiba swore. "I can't believe we were beaten not just by you, but Shikamaru as well?"

"Hey Hinata! You doing ok?" I asked.

Poor Hinata jumped slightly before looking at me, her face burning red. "I-I'm ok, N-Naruto-kun," she replied in the usual meek and shy voice.

"Did you have any problems on the way here?" I asked Kiba.

"Heh! No way!" the Inuzuka retorted, as if insulted at the fact that anything could slow him down, let alone beat him.

I sighed softly. The thing is, I liked Kiba. He was a good guy. In fact he was my fifth favourite male character; Naruto, Jiraiya, Itachi and Kakashi being first, second, third and fourth. But he was kinda assholish when he and Naruto were paired together for a one on one in the preliminaries. I just hope he won't despise me after I beat him. I also wouldn't use a fart like Naruto did to throw him off. That was kinda dishonourable, and Kiba didn't deserve that.

"How's it going Shino?" I asked the Aburame. He just nodded slightly my way. I sighed. "Man you must be fun a parties."

I walked over to Hinata and she began to redden up again. "I've got something to ask you Hinata."

She stiffened. And...

...fell into my arms again as she fainted and I Ki stepped behind her. "Not again," I mumbled. I looked to her teammates as they looked slightly amused at her actions. "You guys go ahead. I need to talk to Hinata when she wakes up."

Kiba seemed to wrestle with his thoughts for a moment before nodding.

"Great. Catch you later guys," I said before I picked Hinata up bridal style and walked out of the room with Dawn and Trunks beside me.

* * *

(Cue song Road To The West by Seatbelts from Cowboy Bebop OST 3 - BLUE)

We sat on the top of the tower, watching the sun set over the Forest of Death. Despite the fact that Orochimaru was lurking around in there somewhere, the scene was still quite peaceful.

I was standing at the edge, looking at the sunset with Dawn at my side. Trunks was sitting behind me watching over the Hyuga princess. I snaked my tail around Dawn's waist and pulled her close to me. She in turn smiled up at me and wrapped her own around me.

"Guys, she's waking up," reported Trunks. We both turned around to see her face scrunch up slightly. Then her beautiful lavender mist eyes opened and squinted at me. I realised that the sun was shining into her eyes so I moved in front of the sun so that my shadow was cast over her eyes.

"Hello there Hinata. Good to see you're awake," I said. She reddened up and stayed silent. "You alright?" I asked, knowing perfectly well that she wasn't.

"Y-Yes. I'm o-ok," she replied.

"I'm here to extend an invitation to train with us," I said kindly. "I said before that you have great potential, but you need to train it up before it will shine through. Then you can show everyone that you are not weak, but a strong kunoichi of the Leaf. You don't need to decide right this second. I'll give you a few minutes to think about it." I then turned around and walked to the edge of the tower before sitting down with my legs dangling over the edge. Dawn and Trunks sat down next to me and we watched the sun dip under the horizon.

"U-umm... N-Naruto-kun..." came the voice of the midnight blue haired girl behind me.

"Yeah?" I asked, turning my head around to look at her.

"I... I w-want to g-get stronger," she replied.

"That's all you had to say Hinata," I smiled. The three of us stood up and walked over to the Hyuga princess. I stretched out my hand as Dawn and Trunks placed their hands on my shoulders. Rex hopped onto my head. "You ready?" I asked.

Hinata looked at my hand, then back at me. I nodded. She smiled timidly before taking it. I then pressed the black wristband watch thingy and the five of us disappeared.

* * *

(Cue song Tales of Wu by Masako Otsuka from Dynasty Warriors 7 Soundtrack)

The days of the Second Exam had come and gone and now the graduating teams were lined up in front of the Hokage and their respective senseis. I stood in front of my team as the Squad leader. Sakura was behind me and Sasuke was in the back. I looked to the side to see Team 8 next to me on the right. Kiba was in front, looking confident as always. Shino was in the back and Hinata was in the middle. I caught her eye and smiled at her. She responded in kind, still quite shy, but the training we did was good in giving her self-confidents a boost.

On the left of me was Team 10. Ino was in front as the self appointed leader, Shikamaru behind her and Chouji in the back. The other teams to make it were the Suna team, Team Gai and Team Official Orochimaru Ass Lickers aka Team Kabuto. Now that the Oto nins were out of the picture, I was wondering how different the match ups were going to be. Dawn and Trunks were already up on the balcony.

At that point a sickly looking ninja in his early 20's jumped to the front of the Hokage.

"Excuse me, Hokage-sama. I, Gekkou Hayate, the judge, will explain," said Hayate.

"Please do," agreed Sarutobi.

"Hey! Hayate! How's it going?" I called over to him. Several Genin were looking between me and the new arrival.

"Not bad Naruto. And yourself? Keeping your skills sharp?" he asked.

"Yep! How's your super hot girlfriend doing?" I grinned slyly.

Here Hayate coughed loudly while his face was quite red.

"I'll take that as a 'she's well'?" I continued to grin.

"Anyways, before the Third Exam…," the poor guy coughed before continuing. "There's something I want you to do." His coughs then got stronger. Some of the Genin looked a little worried. Finished with the coughing fit, Hayate gave us a small smirk.

"Fight in some preliminary matches to see who gets to advance to the Third Exam's main battle."

"Huh? But why can't we advance right now?" asked Kiba.

"Well that's because too many of us advanced through the second exam. They need to whittle us down a few numbers before we can continue," I replied.

Kiba turned to me. "But what's the point?"

"Well the Third Task is going to be a tournament styled fight with various one-on-one battles. And many Lords and Ladies will be attending. They are all quite busy with other things so the main fights can't be too long. Probably only 10 people at the most will be able to advance." I then paused and looked around. "There are 18 people, or six teams here. So I'm guessing there are a bunch of one-on-one fights to make that number to nine for the fights. Tight, intense and fast moving is what is needed for the Third Task. Right?" I asked Hayate.

"It is as Naruto has said. The tool used to decide the match ups is this," said Hayate and as soon as he finished a stone panel on the wall shifted to the side to reveal an electronic bulletin board. Or EBB.

"The matches will be randomly selected on the Electronic Bulletin Board. We will go through the matches until there is no-one left. Then the remaining 9 or less will draw numbers for name placements in the Third Exam. Any more questions?" There was silence. "Then we will begin." He paused. "Oh, that's right. As these fights will be one-on-one, you can quit the exam now if you want with no repercussions on your team. So if any of you want to back out now, raise your hand."

I looked discretely at Kabuto-ass and to my _great_ surprise, he left. And in case you were wondering that was sarcasm. I then scanned the Jōnins up front, and sweatdropped. There, as Jōnin leader for Kabuto's team, was Orochimaru. He was in the exact same outfit as he would of worn for the Oto team, except his headband was leaf.

'Look at him. He thinks he's so stealth. Dumbass,' I smirked inwardly. I then turned to see Kakashi and Anko having a silent discussion with the Hokage. Kakashi pointed at me so I could only assume he had said something about needing to check up on details with me.

"Since there is now an odd number of fighters here, the last person left to fight will go straight to the finals. There are no rules to these fights. You fight until you knock the opponent out, they give up or, unfortunately, die. We will jump in if we can intercept the deathblow though. If I judge the match is over, both combatants are to stand down," finished Hayate. "Without further ado, I will now display the names for the first match."

The EEB flashed before the names of every Genin in the room began to flash rapidly through until the screen froze at two names.

_Naruto Uzumaki vs. Kiba Inuzuka_

"Huh, right off the bat eh?" I said out loud. I looked to Kiba to see him grinning back at me, seemingly ready to pound me into the ground. "Rex, go stand with Dawn and Trunks. I'll be up soon." The kit nodded and jumped off my head.

"Naruto and Kiba, you two stay here. Everyone else, move up to the balconies to watch," said Hayate. I watched as my team walked up to stand next to my friends.

"Hey, Naruto," came a voice and I looked over to see Kakashi moving over to me.

"Hey Kakashi, how's it going?" I asked.

"Not bad. How's Sasuke been?"

Sasuke had been taken away almost as soon as we had settled in the Tower. Kakashi had applied the Evil Sealing Method onto the Cursed Seal of Heaven and by the time the end of the Second Exam had come around, Sasuke had recovered from the sealing. I had created a Neo Kage Bunshin to keep an eye on Sasuke while I helped train Hinata. In the end it reported no irregularities with the seal, even when Sasuke used the Sharingan.

"Nothing bad has happened. The Evil Sealing Method is working, for now," I reported.

"For now?" Kakashi asked.

"Eventually the call of the Cursed Seal's 'power' will be too much and Sasuke will bend to its will. However that time is at the least, a few months off. Hence the words, 'for now'," I replied.

Kakashi nodded. "I see."

"By the way, I need you to be ready to come by my place in a few days," I asked.

"What for?"

"Well, something big is on the horizon, and to minimize collateral damage to a bare minimum, I'm going to need the cooperation of many other Jōnins. Therefore they will need to know my secret so I can gain their trust. Hiruzen is going to help me with that," I said very seriously.

Kakashi took one look at my violet eyes and nodded. "Very well." He then walked up to stand next to Trunks.

"Are both of you ready?" asked Hayate.

I nodded.

Kiba nodded.

"Then begin the battle," Hayate declared and jumped back a bit to give us some room.

"First of all I would like to apologise to you Kiba," I said, bowing my head slightly.

"For what?" dog boy replied as Akamaru jumped down to the floor next to him.

"For this," I said before Ki Stepping.

Kiba slammed into the floor and was knocked out. I stood over him with my sword reversed and the pummel pointing at Kiba's motionless body.

There was a long silence before Hayate coughed and said. "Winner, Naruto Uzumaki."

I nodded before jumping into the air, placing the sword on my back and landing next to Dawn. "Nice job," she said as she wrapped her arm around me.

"Quick and clean," I replied as I placed my own arm around her waist and pulled her close. I grinned. "Who let the dogs out? Who. Who, who, who, who." Dawn giggled at this and Trunks and Rex grinned. Everyone else just blinked in shock. It was only Hayate's announcement of the next two players that broke their attention on me.

"Sakura Hanuro and Shikamaru Nara, please come down for your battle."

"Good luck Sakura," I said as she walked down to the floor. She turned to me and smiled before continuing.

"You're gonna need it," I added, but she didn't hear.

The two Leaf Shinobi met in the centre of the room, eyeing each other. Sakura knew that Shikamaru was smart. Very smart. Most probably he was strategically more quicker than she was. However to her knowledge, the Lazy Genius had no idea of her new abilities. But even then, his plan would incorporate these possible changes so he wouldn't be caught off guard.

Shikamaru was thinking that Sakura had indeed changed, but was unsure of how much. He didn't know how much buffer he should incorporate into his plans with regards to her improved skills. It was, in one word, troublesome.

"Are you two ready?" asked Hayate.

"Yes," said Sakura clearly.

Shikamaru sighed. "It's such a drag but, yeah." Sakura's eye twitched, but that was the only outward sign of her irk.

"Then, begin!"

]-Ten Minutes Later-[

The fight was certainly interesting. With her increased jutsu library, Sakura caught Shikamaru off guard for the first half of the fight before Shikamaru's mind began to analyse and strategize. After that, it was only a matter of time before Shikamaru won the match by knock out, however it was hard won.

"Sakura did do good, but Shikamaru was just too many steps ahead of her. Though he sure looked surprised when Sakura pulled out her new **Snow Cherry Blossom Dance** technique. Even if Shikamaru was able to escape at the end," I commented.

Kakashi walked up the stairs with Sakura in his arms. "She going to be ok?" I asked.

"Yeah. She should only be out of it for a few more minutes. It wasn't a hard hit she received," reported Kakashi.

The next fight up was Gaara and Lee's fight. This battle went the same as what I knew, with Gai saving Lee from Gaara's killing strike. And I looked in awe when Lee stood up to fight. Even though he was unconscious, his subconscious refused to give up.

After that it was Sasuke's fight, followed by Tenten and Temari, then Kankurō's fight. They all went along the same lines as what I knew, though Sasuke finished his fight quicker thanks to little to no interference from his cursed seal. Kakashi's seal was doing the trick. For now.

Then came a fight I was unprepared for. Hinata vs Chouji. I was sure that she would be going up against Neji, but it seemed that luck was on her side.

"Go Hinata! You can do it! You're awesome!" I cheered as she walked down the stairs to the floor. She almost tripped and fell from my supporting, but managed to continue, now sporting a large blush.

"I wonder if Hinata will use 'it' against Chouji," I said to Dawn. She shrugged. However Hinata's teammates were nearby, Kiba having woken up not too long ago. He didn't know how to associate with me since I beat him instantly with one hit. He was half weary, half in awe at me. It was an almost complete 180 from his previous boisterous attitude. It was like he saw me as a legit Alpha Male.

"What do you mean, 'it'?" asked Kiba as he stood across from Trunks.

"Well, maybe you'll see," I said mysteriously.

"Are both combatants ready?" asked Hayate.

"Hai," replied Hinata.

"Yes," replied Chouji.

"Then begin!"

(Cue song "Blinded By Light - Arrange" from Final Fantasy XIII by Mitsuto Suzuki, Ryo Yamazaki from DISSIDIA 012 [duodecim] FINAL FANTASY Original Soundtrack)

Hinata quickly activated her Byakugan without the need for seals and slid into Hyuga taijutsu stance. Chouji immediately went on the offensive by flashing through two seals. "Ninpou: Baika no Jutsu! (Multi-Size Jutsu)" he roared before his whole body turned into a massive human ball. His arms, legs and head disappeared into himself, with visible jets of chakra shooting out. The ball then jumped into the air and came down spinning. "Meat Tank!" called Chouji's voice from somewhere inside. He hit the ground and immediately began to roll quickly towards Hinata.

The Hyuga princess looked quite nervous before she focused and sidestepped out of the way, her hand blazing with chakra. As Chouji passed by she slapped the centre of the rotation so that her arms weren't ripped off. Chouji wobbled a bit but quickly corrected himself, turned around and headed once again towards Hinata. Again she stepped out of the way and applied the same attack. This time the Akimichi wobbled dangerously around before he skidded out of control.

Hinata took this opening and jumped forward to land next to Chouji. 'Now's the time to prove to Naruto-kun that I can be strong. Strong for him!' she thought as she remembered the past month with him and his friends.

]-Flashback-[

"W-where are w-we?" asked Hinata as she looked around at all the whiteness around her.

"This is a special area where I can control time. We can spend a month in an hour if you so wish," I explained.

Her eyes widened. "Really?" she asked in awe.

I nodded. "Really. I've trained in here on several occasions. We are doing to develop your special technique. Your ace-in-the-hole."

"H-how?"

"Well, let's start with activating your Byakugan without hand seals," I said as I prepared the room. "Then we'll look at the 8 Trigrams 64 Palms technique and modify it for your use." I pressed the activate button and watched Hinata's awed face as the rain of pixels began. "Trust me Hinata. By the time this month had finished, you'll be much stronger than you've ever been. I promise."

]-End Flashback-[

"You are within my field of divination!" she said.

She struck the boy high into the air with her hands wreathed in blue energy, jumped after him, positioned herself over Chouji and began her attack. Her hands moved so fast that the chakra left a long streak behind. She then began to pummel Chouji with small, but incredibly quick hits. Soon it looked like there was a sphere of energy around Hinata, made up of thin lines of chakra. Then the power increased, creating a real sphere of bright blue energy. Chouji's body created a black shadow from the light as it was struck continuously. Then, from within the sphere, a voice called out, "**8 Trigrams 64 Guardian Palms!**" before the whole sphere shattered like glass and Chouji crashed into the ground, completely knocked out.

There was complete silence before Hayate coughed. "Winner, Hyuga Hinata," announced the sickly Jōnin.

(Cue music silence)

"BOOYAA!" I cheered as I jumped up and down. "She did it!"

"What was that?" asked Kiba.

"It was the 8 Trigrams 64 Guardian Palms. Hinata and I worked on creating that move before the Preliminaries," I explained.

"Impressive," replied Shino.

"Indeed. Her version requires more flexibility than the standard Hyuga version. In a way, this is more the female version of the move 8 Trigrams 64 Palms, as the original is made more for a male's body and strength than a female's," I said before looking over to Neji. He looked calm on the outside, but his fist was clenched hard. "Someone's having a hard time accepting Hinata's new move eh?" I murmured to Dawn while pointing discretely at the Hyuga prodigy.

"Yeah. I just hope he doesn't blow his stack and charges Hinata," replied Dawn in a worried tone.

"Ah let him. I'm ready to kick his ass," I grinned. "Yo Hinata! Over here!" I called. She looked up, blushed as normal, and walked over.

"Nice job with the execution of your new signature move," I praised her while patting her head fondly and executing Naruto's signature foxy grin, but completely genuine. She simply blushed more, but had a small smile as she received the praise.

"Yeah! That was awesome Hinata!" congratulated Kiba.

"Good job," added Shino.

"T-thank you, Kiba-kun, Shino-kun," she replied softly. She then looked at me and she bowed. "And thank y-you, N-Naruto-kun."

"Not a problem. I want you to become stronger, but more than that, I want you to want it. Strength comes in many forms, and so does the desire to claim it. For me, it's to protect my friends, family and loved ones. You need to find your drive, otherwise, why do you even bother." I could see it in her eyes that she had taken what I had said to heart. Kiba too by the looks of him.

The next fight was an odd match up, as well as the second quickest. Shino vs Ino. About five seconds into the fight, Ino screamed in fright and gave up due to Shino's bugs. I guess she wasn't a fan.

The last person was Neji, so he was automatically placed in the finals.

(Cue song Tales of Wu by Masako Otsuka from Dynasty Warriors 7 Soundtrack)

"Now that the preliminaries have been completed, and all the contestants heading to the Third Task have been chosen, we now request that you draw a number from this box," The Hokage nodded at Anko, who revealed the large box.

"Ok kiddies, line up and draw," the snake mistress said. The draws went like this.

"2," said Neji.

"9," said Hinata nervously.

"1," I said, grinning a Grimmjow grin at Neji.

"6," said Temari.

"7," intoned Gaara.

"4," said Kankurō.

"3," said Shino.

"5," said Shikamaru, punctured with a yawn.

"8," said Sasuke.

As the numbers were claimed, Ibiki wrote down the names for the order of the tournament. When all was finished, he showed off the results.

"The match ups are as follows. Naruto vs Neji. Shino vs Kankurō. Shikamaru vs Temari. Gaara vs Sasuke. Whoever wins match four will face off against Hinata."

"The Third Exam will take place in one month. This gives you time to train for your matches, as well as time for us to send out the announcements to all the Lords and Ladies wanting to observe the matches," said Hiruzen. "Even if you lose your first match, if you are deemed having the qualities of a Chunin, then the suggestion for promotion will be added to your name. Ultimately it is up to the Kage you are serving if this suggestion is accepted or not. The matches will be held in thirty days. Prepare and rest."

* * *

(AN: This chapter is a little early as I'm going to be away for a few days without access to the internet. But I'm sure you won't complain. Review my chapter and I'll see you on this story in a month's time.)


	19. Chapter 19: The Meeting

Chapter 19: The Meeting

(Cue song Summer Breezin' by Diana King)

"So now what?" asked Trunks. We were currently playing Celestial Ninja Storm on the PlayStation 3. Dawn was sitting next to me, staring at the screen. So was Rex. I was playing my avatar and Trunks was playing his. At the moment I was kicking his ass, but that's only because I had past experience with games working in my favour. That was slowly not becoming an issue as he was learning quickly. So was a hanyou transformed Rex and Dawn and they were further along than Trunks.

It was the morning after the Second Exam and everyone was getting ready to begin training. I had decided against waking up the Sound Kunoichi we had turned in the Second Exam as there was something very important I wanted to do first, and on the off chance that Kin was using this opportunity to go spy and gather information on us, she wouldn't be revived just yet. I had faith in Dawn's ability to detect lies when she checked Kin's eyes as she responded to my questions, but better safe than sorry.

"Well, I was thinking that we start the meeting. But first we gotta make contact with Jiraiya. He should be peeping at the springs at the moment. OHH! You got owned!" I grinned as I performed my Ultimate Jutsu, summoning Slipstream, on Trunks, effectively winning the round.

"So, should we go?" Trunks asked as he tossed the controller away. He didn't become sulky when he lost, which was nice.

...unlike me. Mr. Sore Loser.

"Yeah. Let's get him, explain the situation to him, then go over to Hiruzen and get him to summon everyone we've deemed worthy to prepare for the invasion," I said as I shut down the console and stood up, the others doing the same. Rex jumped up onto my head.

* * *

"Hey Josh, look. There he is!" Trunks said softly as he pointed to a person peeking through a crack in the wooden wall. We were in the hot springs area of Konoha. I had sent a Neo clone to Hiruzen to let him know what was going to happen.

"Nicely spotted Trunks," I said before we walked up to him. He was giggling while scribbling down notes in a notepad.

"Hey Jiraiya!" I said. He looked around to glance at us. "Not now kid, I'm a little..." He did a double take on Dawn and I. "...busy... Minato? Kushina?"

"Not quite. I know that she looks like Kushina, but comparing me to Minato? I know I have the hair and height, but come on!" I replied.

The old man blinked once before shaking his head and returning to the crack in the wall. "You're right. Don't know what I was thinking. Sorry bout that kid."

(Cue music silence)

"Hey, it's alright godfather. No harm done," I grinned. Here he whipped his head around so quickly I thought it was going to spin off.

"What did you call me kid?"

"Godfather. And if you were wondering, my name is Uzumaki Naruto," I smiled.

Jiraiya was still for a few moments, his face almost unreadable. "Let's go somewhere more private so we can talk," he eventually suggested.

"We can go to my place to talk," I suggested before we all began walking toward my place.

Twenty minutes of walking silently we eventually arrived at the bottom of the pathway to my home, which could be seen up the top.

"This is where you live?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yeah. It used to be the Namikaze residence but I've done some extensive work on the place. It's now called the Kitsuné Chateau," I replied.

"Kitsuné?"

"Yeah. Don't worry, all will be explained once inside," I promised before we made our way up to the entrance. The Sannin was quite nervous when we passed Cloud and Zack at the entrance but kept quiet. We swept straight through the entrance hall to the back and sat on the stools at the bar area. Dawn and Trunks sat on either side of Jiraiya while Rex sat on the counter. I, however, prepared a Blonde Bombshell cocktail for him.

"Ok then. I guess I should start at the beginning," I sighed as I prepared to drop my own bombshell on everything he knew.

* * *

(Cue song Trust Me by Nobuo Uematsu from Final Fantasy VIII Original Soundtrack)

"And that's the whole story. Later on I'm going to prepare a meeting with Hiruzen to explain what is to happen in the next month," I said, sipping a Red Corvette. Dawn was drinking a Cosmopolitan and Trunks had a Japanese Slipper. I had just told Jiraiya who I really was, how this mess had happened and the fact that I knew about major future events. I hadn't told him my current status or the fact that Dawn was the Kyuubi.

Jiraiya downed the last bit of his drink. His face was a strange mix of shock, disbelief, anger and sadness. He then looked at me. "Do you know who killed Naruto?" he asked, completely livid.

"Trust me. If I knew, I would plot my revenge so well that not even Kami would be able to trace the murder back to me," I said with conviction. "I don't like to kill, but that person is a special case. I will find out who did this and I will show him just how much of a demon I can be." I then calmed myself. "So I guess this means that you believe me," I stated.

Jiraiya nodded. "Yes, I guess it does. It's a fantastic story, but it all makes sense."

I smiled before fishing out my iPhone 4 and dialling a number. Jiraiya looked curiously at what I was doing. There was a dialtone for a few moments before a young boy's voice answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey Naruto! It's me, Josh," I answered.

"Oh hey Josh! Good to hear from you again!"

"Same here. I actually want to talk to your dad. Is he there?" Jiraiya looked sharply at me when I said this.

"Sure! Hold on a sec!" There was silence for a half minute.

"Hey Josh! How's it going!" Minato answered.

"Not bad. I've actually got a favour to ask of you."

"Fire away!"

"Well I'm hosting a meeting with the Hokage and everyone I deem worthy so I can explain who I am to them as well as about certain events in the near future that will impact the survival of the Leaf Village. I want you to gather several of your friends and I'll set up a conference screen so you can be part of the meeting."

"Can do! Anyone in particular you want?"

"Yeah. Hashirama and Tobirama Senju, Kushina if she wants to join in, Hizashi and Hiashi's wife, whatever her name is," I listed off.

"Her name is Hitomi," supplied the ex-Hokage.

"Yeah, her. That's all. I'm thinking a good time to gather will be tomorrow afternoon. This alright with you?"

"I reckon so."

"By the way, there's someone who wants to talk to you," I grinned as Jiraiya's eyes grew panicked as I looked at him. I thrust the mic end of the phone at him. "Well, go on. Speak to him."

There was a pause. "M-Minato? I-is that y-you?" he stuttered.

"Jiraiya?" asked Minato. As soon as he said that name, the floodgates opened with Jiraiya and he cried while blubbering.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I wanted to take Naruto with me but the council wouldn't let me and Sarutobi promised me that he would be taken care of! I'm sorry for failing you!"

I blinked, not expecting this emotional outburst from him, thought I guess it was a long time coming.

There was a silence before Minato's voice came through. "It's ok. I know it's not your fault. And besides, a life on the road is not a good life for a young child. I realise that Konoha as a whole has not been very kind to Naruto. In fact, aside from a few people, I wish I had just let the Kyuubi continue to plough through the village. But this is not your fault. And Naruto knows this; he doesn't blame you at all." By the time he finished talking, Jiraiya was crying again, but this time he was relieved.

"Thank you. Thank you," he cried softly.

"However, I want you to stand by Josh here. He's been given a mission from Kami-sama Himself. It's to create a lasting peace in the Elemental Countries." Here Jiraiya looked at me in surprise. "I know that this is your dream too and so I think you should work together to make it possible."

"He's right. And I want to do this. Would you be willing to help me?" I asked.

"Y-yeah," he replied.

"Great! We'll be ready for you tomorrow afternoon. Any particular time or should I just keep my whole afternoon open?" the Fourth asked.

"Best go for the second option. I have no idea exactly what time this meeting will begin so I'll just call you when I'm all ready to begin. Call you tomorrow!"

"I'll look forward to hear from you then," Minato finished before he hung up.

I looked over to Jiraiya. "You think you'll be alright?" I asked.

Jiraiya sniffed and wiped his eyes. "I will be," he smiled shakily.

"Good. Cause now I'm going to tell you a few things that will shift how you see the world," I said.

"Didn't you already do that?" he asked wryly.

"Good point," I replied with a laugh. I then told him the true nature of the Kyuubi, revealed that Dawn was the Kyuubi, the fact that I was a Kitsuné hanyou, the real identity of Trunks and that I was the Lord of all foxes and currently in command of a Kitsuné army 10 million units strong. Finally Dawn, Trunks and I gave permission for Jiraiya to see us in our hanyou form.

"Well, after you told me the first bit of news I thought that there was nothing that would surprise me in the future, but you just proved me wrong with this new piece on news," said Jiraiya.

"I could still use your help in the coming month to train," I asked.

"Sure kid. I'll help you," he replied.

"Cool. Well let's go over to Hiruzen's and set up this meeting," I suggested as I washed up the glasses, put them in a drying rack and left the area with Jiraiya, Dawn and Trunks.

* * *

(Cue song Felt Tip Pen by Yoko Kanno from Cowboy Bebop Original Soundtrack 1)

"Come in!" called Hiruzen through the door. I pushed it open and saw the old Hokage with my Neo Clone. The clone nodded before dispelling himself.

"I was just chatting to your clone," said Hiruzen before he spotted the white haired man next to me. "Jiraiya! Good to see you."

"You too sensei," replied Jiraiya.

"So I guess he's told you everything?" Sarutobi asked.

"Well he didn't tell me what this meeting would consist of," Jiraiya replied.

"Don't worry. All will be explained tomorrow. I promise," I said.

"Very well. List me the names and I'll send the invites this afternoon," Sarutobi said.

"Ok. I need Yūhi Kurenai, Mitarashi Anko, Sarutobi Asuma, Hatake Kakashi, Kamizuki Izumo, Hagane Kotetsu, Shiranui Genma, Gekko Hayate, Uzuki Yùgao, Maito Gai, Morino Ibiki, Inuzuka Tsume, Hyuga Hiashi, Yamanaka Inoichi, Nara Shikaku, Akimichi Chouza, Aburame Shibi, Ebisu, Umino Iruka, Monkey summon Enma and Tenzo." I then turned to Jiraiya. "When you come you need to summon Fukasaku. I would ask Gamabunta, but he's a little too big to fit inside my place."

"May I ask why these choices?" asked Hiruzen.

"Because, apart from Tsunade and Shizune, I don't think anyone else in Konoha can deal with the information I'll share with all of you tomorrow. And the reason we're doing it at my place is because I don't want that old warhawk fuckhead Danzo to overhear." The two blinked at my referral to the leader of ROOT.

"What? I know he's an asshole, you know he's an asshole; it's not really a stretch to call him a fuckhead. We all know he's been interested in nothing but making Konoha as the conquers of the world. Why do you think he wanted to make Naruto into a Jinchūriki Weapon of Mass Destruction?"

"Point taken," replied Hiruzen with a smirk.

"It's weird in how he knows so much," Jiraiya murmured to his teacher.

"Don't make me spill everything I know about you to certain people, like your persistent love for Tsunade," I warned him.

"How did you know about that!" yelped Jiraiya.

"Hello! It's me! And trust me, that isn't all I know. For example, after thinking you could summon, ignoring the fact that you hadn't signed a contract, you reverse summoned yourself to Mt. Myoboku where the Great Toad Sage made a prophecy concerning you: that you would someday choose whether one of your students saved or destroyed the world. During your time with the toads, you trained in senjutsu. In the Second Great Ninja War, you, along with your teammates Tsunade and Orochi-wanker, faced off against Hanzo, leader of Amegakure. During this fight you gained the title of Sannin from him along with your teammates. You have two chakra elemental types; Earth and Fire. You love to show off, even in a fight. But despite your flamboyant behaviour and prowess as a ninja, you are a strong believer in peace; your hope being to one day end the hatred that plagues the ninja world. You also hold a great deal of faith in the next generation, and see them as the answer to break this cycle of hate. Do you wish me to continue?"

The current look I saw on Jiraiya's face was the same look of surprise and disbelief I saw on Kakashi's face when I let him know just how much I knew about him.

"Whoa... déjà vu," I commented.

"Orochi-wanker?" asked Jiraiya before he cracked up laughing loudly.

I grinned before turning to Sarutobi. "How bout Danzo Dork! Danzo Douchebag! Danzo Dickhead?"

Hiruzen snorted with laughter. "Ha! That's quite accurate!"

"I'm glad you think so. Now, if there isn't anything more you want to ask me, I'm going to prepare for tomorrow," I said before Trunks, Dawn, Rex and I walked out of the office.

* * *

]-The Next Day – Afternoon-[

(Cue song Vana'diel March by Naoshi Mizuta from Final Fantasy XI Original Soundtrack)

The first to arrive was Hiruzen, wearing his usual Hokage robes and Jiraiya. "Hiya Hiruzen! Jiraiya!" I greeted at the front door.

"Good afternoon Josh. Having a good day so far?" the Hokage asked.

"Yeah. What time did you ask the others to come over?" I asked.

"Around 2:30 pm."

I pulled out my iPhone and checked the time. "2:00 pm huh," I muttered. "Well, would you like a drink? Coffee? Tea? Cocktail?"

"I'll just have some water please," Hiruzen replied as I showed him to the living room where Dawn, Trunks, Zabuza, Meizu, Gozu, Haku and Rex were lounging around.

"If you don't mind, I'll have one of those delicious cocktails that you made for me yesterday. What was it called?" asked Jiraiya.

"A Blonde Bombshell," I replied, grinning.

Jiraiya blinked before he sported a lecherous grin. "What an apt name!" he crowed.

At 2:20 pm, Kurenai, Anko, Asuma, Kakashi, Gai and Tenzo arrived in a group. I welcomed them all inside and showed them to the lounge room.

"Hello Tenzo. It's good to finally meet you," I greeted.

"...thanks," he replied, a little confused. He then turned to Kakashi. "Sempai, how does he know about me?"

Kakashi just eye smiled. "You'll see soon enough," he said as he sat down next to Trunks.

The next group to come was Izumo, Kotetsu, Genma, Hayate and Yùgao. I welcomed them in.

"How's it going Yùgao?" I asked. "ANBU commander duties keeping you busy?"

"Not as much as you might think. I still get time to spend with Hayate," she said as she pushed her mask up to reveal black eyes and a smiling face.

"Good on ya!" I grinned before clapping Izumo and Kotetsu on the back. "Hey guys! How ya been?"

"Alright. How about you Naruto," Izumo asked.

"Quite good. You two want a beer?"

"Hell yeah!" cheered Kotetsu while his partner rolled his eyes before nodding. I created a few Neo clones to go get the orders from other people before going out to the bar and making the orders.

Next in was Ebisu and Iruka. Kakashi took one look at Iruka, paled and quickly bolted for the bathroom.

"Oh boy. I really did break him," I said in a regretful tone.

Ebisu was a wild card for me. His feelings about Naruto were quite clear at first in the anime. The reason why I invited him was because that I knew his views about Naruto changed. But as this was the first time I had met him since arriving here, I didn't know his feelings.

Then came Ibiki, Tsume and Shibi. They moved quietly into the living room where everyone was either chatting to others or waiting quietly.

Tsume looked just like she did in the anime; wild and feral looking with her aura projecting 'Alpha'. But there was quite a bit of 'mother' vibe in her stature.

And finally Hiashi, Inoichi, Shikaku and Chouza arrived. I then asked Hiruzen to summon Enma and for Jiraiya to summon Fukasaku. Once everyone was ready, I called for everyone to be silent and began.

"Before I begin, I will say this. 'If you want to know the truth, then you must have the courage to accept it.' The information that I am about to tell you will be radical and you might think its crazy. So if you wish to leave right now, I won't stop you."

There was a long pause where a few people looked at the Hokage. He stayed still and so everyone stayed where they were.

"Well, I'm glad everyone is still here. I know that most of you are curious as to why I have called all of you here for this meeting, right?"

"Yeah. Why is that?" asked Asuma.

"I'll get to that soon. First up, with Sarutobi's permission, I would like to void the law concerning me during this meeting, and ask you what you think of me without the law, and the punishment, holding you back." Several people blinked at this. I looked to Hiruzen, who openly nodded.

"I grant this permission to void Law no. 293 that states no-one is to mention Naruto's burden as a Jinchūriki for the remainder of this meeting," said the Hokage.

For a moment no one spoke up. Then Inoichi stood up. "I've always had faith in the Yondaime's skill in sealing away the Kyuubi inside of you and so I do not think you are the Kyuubi incarnate," he said before sitting down. Several other people nodded their agreement.

"Thank you Inoichi," I smiled. "Would anyone else like to say something? To get it out of their system?"

No one said anything.

(Cue song The Illusive Man by Jack Wall from Mass Effect 2 Original Soundtrack)

"Ok then. On to the next bit of info." I took a deep breath. "I am not Naruto. The fact is that Naruto died several months ago when he was attacked by someone, whose identity is still unknown. This attack was done with a special blade that was made specifically to cut away a person's soul. Naruto's soul ascended to heaven, but the pressure of Kyuubi's chakra on the seal without the soul's willpower to hold it together, was deteriorating the seal. If left unchecked, the seal would of broken and the ensuing explosion would of wiped out most of Fire Country and the fallout would have destroyed or poisoned the rest of the world. Everyone would of been dead within one year of the blast."

I paused to let that sink in. Eventually Kurenai spoke up, who was sitting next to a nervous Zabuza. "But you're obviously still here, right?"

"I am, and yet, I'm not. To prevent the explosion from happening, Kami needed to find a soul similar to Naruto's own. However he was forced to look outside his domain and into someone else's. He then came across me, after I had just buried my mother. He offered me the deal and I took it. And so I now reside inside Naruto's body to keep the Kyuubi's youki under control."

"Is this true Hokage-sama?" asked Tsume in disbelief.

"It is. Aside from the fact that he simply knows so much about all of us, personal or otherwise, he also has knowledge of future events which have, so far, come true. And I met Kami, whose name is Ken, and he confirmed everything," Hiruzen replied.

"That's how you knew about my likes and dislikes on that day," replied Kurenai.

"That's right," I nodded.

"How did you get this information?" asked Hiashi.

"Well, believe it or not, the life of Naruto, and those around him, were made into a cartoon shown on TV in my world," I grinned.

"What?" spluttered Ebisu. Iruka laughed. "I had the same reaction when I was told," he said.

"You see, all the different worlds are more connected than you think. It was just your world's influence on mine."

I then stretched before turning on the TV, walking over to the PS3, ejecting Ultimate Ninja Celestial Storm and inserting Naruto: Storm 1. "This," I pointed at the console, "is called a PlayStation 3. It's a machine from my world that allows me to play games through the screen. Watch."

I then picked up one controller and threw the second one to Dawn. Everyone watched as the PS3 booted up, the introduction movie for Storm 1 played, Dawn and I choosing our characters; me choosing Naruto and Dawn choosing Sasuke. Then we vs'ed each other with me KOing Sasuke with Naruto's Ultimate Jutsu, the Naruto: Ninja Handbook.

When all was finished, everyone was opened eyed. I grinned at their expression before selecting a new character, Kiba. Dawn stayed on Sasuke. I owned with Kiba's Ultimate Jutsu, Wolf Fang Over Fang. Tsume cheered as the jutsu ended.

"He actually masters it?" asked Tsume.

"Oh yeah," I replied. I got a few more requests. Gai vs Kakashi, Jiraiya vs Orochimaru and Ino vs Chouji.

"Ok, that's enough. I'll be happy to show you all this again later. But for now, there's much more to tell," I said.

"More?" asked Hayate.

"Oh yeah. Now, 10,000 years ago, after a war of global proportions that nearly wiped humans off the face of the planet, Ken created a guardian to protect peace throughout the lands. The guardian had ten tails and was known to humans as the Juubi. All was well for a time but then, 7,000 years ago, for seemingly no reason at all, the Juubi went on a rampage, killing and destroying everything in its path. At that point, a warrior priest named Samasuki, but you know him better as the Sage of the Six Paths, wielding the Rinningan, stopped the Juubi and separated the being into ten portions. Nine became the bijuu, and the tenth, the Juubi's body, was sealed into a stone prison which became the moon.

Now as soon as the process was over, Ken took the nine portions of the Juubi and made them into guardians. He also created a few others, and then scattered them all over the lands in the hopes that they would be able to do the job the Juubi was supposed to do. But plans never go the way they are planned to. Some were sealed up into objects or humans, some were driven into exile within their chosen countries. A few were able to blend in to avoid detection. The Kyuubi was among these few.

Thirteen years ago, while Kyuubi was out patrolling the boarder, a man came along and brought the Kyuubi under an extremely powerful genjutsu. A genjutsu that made Kyuubi think that Konoha was a threat to the safety of the Fire Country. And so the Kyuubi raged across the country toward Konoha, only to be stopped by the current Hokage in office. Minato sealed the Kyuubi inside Naruto. Then the business with Naruto dying and me coming into the picture happened several months ago.

At one point, Ken said that, if Kyuubi and I wanted, she could be released from within me, but only her soul would be allowed to leave, while the majority of her youki would remain within me. In doing this, it would make me into a Kitsuné hanyou and the new guardian for Fire Country. I took it. This," here I pointed at Dawn, "is the Kyuubi, only now we call her Dawn. She is also my lover so if any one of you attack her I will protect her. Meaning I will kill anyone who makes a move against her!" I growled out the last bit while activating my Eye Glow jutsu and flaring my Ki around me. They all got the message immediately.

"Wait a minute! Are you saying that Kyuubi and you are an item?" asked Jiraiya.

"Yep," I replied.

Jiraiya just opened his mouth in shock. I grinned. "I know. I'm such a studmuffin."

A few people laughed softly at this.

"Don't worry about us. Now that we know the truth, we won't go and try to kill Kyuubi... I mean Dawn," replied Yùgao, with everyone else nodding.

"We're not like those stupid villagers!" Hayate added.

"Thank you," I said, relaxing. "Along with becoming the new Guardian of Fire Country, I'm also the Lord of all Foxes. I also command an army of 10 million foxes and vixens. They range from low class one tails to the behemoth 8-tailed variety. All can be very deadly and destructive. At the end of the day, 'Kick in the balls' does not _begin_ to describe what awaits anyone stupid enough to get in our way."

"Whoa!" replied mostly everyone who didn't know.

"Wait a second. You said that a man cast a genjutsu on Dawn-san which then made her attack Konoha. Do you know who this man is?" asked Genma.

I paused, wondering if they could handle this piece of information.

"What's wrong?" asked Kurenai.

"Well, it's just... I'm wondering if you're ready for such information. If I tell you who this man is then I'll have to tell what he's up to and all the rest. And for the moment, that doesn't matter. There is a thing as too much info," I replied. "It's not like I want to withhold this info, but sometimes it's better if you don't know for the moment. Ignorance is bliss. Plus you're not constantly worrying over it. So how bout I tell you another time."

"I agree. Too much information can backfire. Not to mention that constantly thinking about it will only serve to stress us," agreed Ibiki.

"Thank you Ibiki. I'm glad you agree, being the head of Torture and Interrogation Division of ANBU. And anyways, the main topic under discussion today will be enough to stress you guys out for the next month," I smiled.

"Ok, now I need you all to place a hand on the person next to you so all of you are connected please," I requested. They did so, Jiraiya almost getting pummelled for touching an inappropriate area on Tsume.

I then placed my hand on the nearest visitor, Hayate, and focused. When everyone gasped I stopped and looked around. Everyone was looking at me in awe and respect.

"I take it you like the appendage?" I asked as I swished my fox tail behind me. I then got serious again.

"Now I would like you all to follow me into my special conference room, if you please," I requested before walking out of the room. We walked over to where I had discovered the conference room and everyone sank into a comfortable chair. I then picked up my phone and dialled Naruto's number. I didn't turn on the speakerphone for this.

"Hello?" came Minato's voice from the other end.

"Hey. It's me, Josh," I said.

"OK. Are you ready?"

"Yeah. Are you?"

"Anytime." I heard Minato calling the others in before I removed the phone and connected it into a special plug on the table. The screen behind me flickered once before the video feed activated, showing Minato, Hashirama, Tobirama, Kushina, Hizashi, Hitomi, Naruto and a man who looked identical to Sarutobi Sasuke from Sengoku BASARA 3.

"Hey guys!" I greeted, even as I heard loud gasps behind me

"Hello Josh. Nice to finally see you," replied Kushina, smiling.

"It's nice to see you too, Kushina," I smiled back. I then looked between her and Dawn, cataloguing the several similarities. Kushina grinned and turned to her husband. "He's got my eyes," she said.

"Huh... I never noticed the connection before, but now that you mention it..." Minato replied as I looked at Naruto's mother's eyes. Both our eyes were violet, however mine were true violet while Kushina's were more centred on Regalia, a dark violet.

"I guess that is the Kyuubi?" she asked as she pointed to the vixen next to me.

"That's right. Her name is Dawn. We're also together," I explained.

"Is that so?" she replied.

"They look like us back when we were alive, don't they?" Minato smiled fondly.

"Is that...?" asked Hiruzen, pointing to the Sarutobi Sasuke lookalike.

"Sure is!" he replied. "How ya doing son! You got old!" He then laughed loudly.

"Wha?" I gasped softly. "He's your dad?"

"Yes. That man is Sasuke Sarutobi, my father," said Hiruzen.

Sasuke looked every bit like is Sengoku BASARA form. Brown spiky hair pushed out of his face by a metal mask style forehead protector reminiscent of what Yamato would come to wear and what Tobirama was currently wearing. He wore green camo shirt and pants and had green face paint lines on the top of his cheeks.

"I wanted to include them in this discussion," I said.

"Hey Josh!" called out Naruto.

"Hey kid! You having fun?" I asked.

"Yeah!" the hyperactive boy replied. "Hello old man!"

"Hello Naruto. It's good to see you well and happy with your parents," said Sarutobi in that nice grandfatherly tone.

"What? Naruto was the son of the Yondaime?" asked Gai in shock.

We all looked flatly at him. "Gai," I began, "I know you have selective sight, you'd have to be with what you're wearing, but come on!"

"Anyway, do you think it's a good idea to have Naruto included in this meeting? I know he's with Konoha to the end... and by the looks of it, even afterward... but I think he'll just get bored with what we're going to discuss," I said.

"That's quite true," Minato replied. "Naruto, go play with your new friends."

"Ok!" Naruto said before he zipped out of sight.

"Brother? Dear?" asked Hiashi in disbelief.

"Hey bro! What's happening?" Hiruzen asked. Judging by his tone I guessed he wasn't like other Hyuga. I guessed neither was Hitomi.

"We can talk later darling. Right now we need to listen to Josh," said Hitomi.

"Thank you Hitomi," I nodded at her before I sighed as I prepared for what I was going to say next. "Now onto the main event. In one month, Orochimaru will invade Konoha with the full force of both his village, Otogakure, and Sunagakure."

There were mixed reactions to this. "But Suna is allied to us!" was the most popular.

"Orochimaru kills the Kazekage and impersonates him while the Final Exam takes place. His plan hinges on Gaara totally loosing it and going Shukaku on everyone in the village," I explained.

"What do you mean?" asked Izumo.

"Gaara is the Jinchūriki of the One Tailed Tanuki, Shukaku," I said. The people who did know this tidbit of information nodded.

"We must warn the Kazekage immediately!" said Hiruzen.

"Probably too late. And if we're not, it would only show our hand of advanced warning to Orochimaru, who might just call the whole invasion off and reschedule at a different Chunin Exam time, or even construct a completely new plan. We need to use my knowledge to set a trap for him."

"What are you thinking?" asked Jiraiya in his serious mode.

"Well, my knowledge of this event goes like this. Sasuke and Gaara face off in the Finals. At one point in the fight, Orochimaru begins the invasion by throwing a smoke bomb to obscure the Kage box. Then him and Sarutobi jump onto the roof where Orochimaru's Sound Four Bodyguards create a large and high force field barrier before ANBU can move in. The Hokage and Orochimaru engage in a small fight with a few jutsu before Orochimaru uses a nasty jutsu that can revive the dead provided you have sacrifices ready. One for each person revived."

"How did Orochimaru create something like that?" asked Shibi.

"In his quest to be immortal," I replied. "The revived people were Hashirama and Tobirama Senju. He almost succeeded in reviving Minato as well, but luckily Hiruzen stopped the jutsu from completing."

"Damn! That's just nasty," commented the leader of the Senju clan.

"You can say that again," added his white haired brother.

"Sarutobi battled valiantly against them, eventually being backed into a corner where he had to use the Shiki Fujin on them via Kage Bunshin to beat them," I continued.

"Wow! Nice going Hokage-sama!" Kotetsu said. "But what's the Shiki Fujin?"

"It's one of the ultimate sealing jutsus that Minato used to seal Dawn here into Naruto," I explained. "It summons the Shinigami himself to actually drag out the soul and seal it inside you or someone else, but it requires the strength of the user to do the pulling. The Shinigami cuts the soul from the body, and as payment, takes the users soul as well. That's how Minato died. His soul was the price to pay for sealing Dawn inside Naruto," I explained. There was a short silence.

"Anywho, Sarutobi used the Shiki Fujin on Orochimaru, but didn't have the strength to fully pull out his soul as he was impaled with Orochimaru's sword, the Kusanagi, at the time. So instead the Shinigami cut Orochimaru's soul at the arms, disabling him from using Jutsu ever again, even though he found a loophole in that. Sarutobi died and Orochimaru got away.

Meanwhile, as this battle was happening, Gaara was transported out into Konoha's forest, where he eventually transformed into the final form of Shukaku. But thanks to Naruto and Gamabunta, Gaara was subdued and also had a change of heart from his usual bloodthirsty psycho-ness. Are you with me so far?" I asked.

"Yeah, though it's a drag," muttered Shikaku.

"Well, what I propose is we let Orochimaru and the invading army in, but plan to quickly subdue or trap the army to avoid collateral damage." I then looked at the screen projection. "Also when the First and Second Hokage's were revived, Orochimaru placed a special seal inside you so you would become emotionally dead and have no free will. You attacked Sarutobi with no mercy. Maybe Minato can work on a seal that negates that when you are brought back. Then we can all team up on Orochimaru. He might get out but there's no way he's leaving in one piece. Then, thanks to a special sword that Dawn carries, we'll be able to separate your soul from the faux bodies and you can go back to heaven. What do you think?"

"Well assuming your information is correct then it seems airtight to me," said Shikaku.

"Well the only thing that would be different is the possibility of a third village joining in on the invasion. Kiri is too busy with the Bloodline Wars to help out, Iwa won't come within 500 miles of us thanks to you," here I pointed at Minato. "Ame doesn't care about much of anything these days, Taki is allied to us and isn't thrilled in participating in a war, and Kumo won't risk another incident like last time when they tried to kidnap Hinata-chan for the Byakugan and got Hizashi with his brains scrambled for their troubles."

"Hinata-chan?" came two voices. One from Hitomi, who had a shit eating grin on her face, and Hiashi.

"Oh shit," I muttered. "Now before you get your panties in a twist Hiashi," This comment had Hizashi rolling around giggling on the floor. "Know that I like your daughter and have no intentions of leading her on or hurting her in any way, ok? So don't Jyuuken Kung Fu my ass!"

If Hizashi wasn't laughing before, he sure was now. And Hitomi had joined in.

Hiashi blinked. "Actually I was going to ask you if you helped her develop the 8 Trigrams 64 Guardian Palms?"

"Uhhh..." I said, realising that I had dug myself a hole on that one. "Yeah? I got it from the Ultimate Jutsu Hinata uses in that video game I showed you earlier."

"Well... thank you," the Hyuga clan leader said shortly.

I blinked. "Sure..." I replied. "So is there anything else that needs to be addressed?"

"Actually, yes there are a few things," said Hitomi. "I would like to speak to Hiashi privately, as well as my daughters."

"Well we can give you and Hiashi some privacy later. As for messages to your daughters, I can record a video message and show it to them later. This alright?" I asked. Hitomi nodded.

"I'd also like to record one for my son, Neji," asked Hizashi.

"No problem. Just know that your son has a six foot long pole up his ass at the moment. I probably won't show him the message until after I've removed it in the Chunin Exams," I warned him.

Hizashi laughed again. "That's ok Josh," he grinned.

"Anything else?" I asked.

There was silence.

"Ok. Hiashi will stay here while we vacate the area for their privacy," I suggested before Fukasaku spoke up for the first time in the meeting.

"Hold on a minute! Throughout this whole meeting, even though some people have spoken your first name, most of us still don't know your whole name. While you clearly know everything about us."

"Damn, your right! I'm so sorry, but I completely forgot while trying to tell all the important stuff. My name is Josh Kitsuné," I apologised and introduced. "And I would like to take this chance to say that I expect you all to keep all information that we have discussed today inside this mansion please. I will reveal who I really am eventually to the general public, but not now. Probably not until I make Jōnin. Unless individuals have proven themselves to me that they are ready to handle such information. Also call me Naruto in public until I reveal my true self to the world. Does everyone understand?"

"Of course we understand, pup," said Tsume.

I smiled in an amused way. "Actually Tsume, I'm no pup. Mentally I'm 25 years old, and I now look like a 30 year old man."

Tsume blinked. "I guess that's why you sound so mature."

"Only when it suites me. Bout half the time I'm a mixture of sarcastic, dry and sly humour, but I do have my immature moments, all in good humour of course," I replied. I then blinked as an idea came to me. "If anyone wishes to discuss what we've talked about here some more, or if you want someone to know the truth about me come by the house and recite the password 'To know the truth, you must have the courage to accept it.' I'll judge whether they should know or not, but I will listen to what you have to say about them." Everyone nodded as they burned the password into their minds.

We then all filed out of the room, the people on Hitomi's side doing the same.

* * *

]-Third POV-[

(Cue song Ventus by Yoko Shimomura from Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep & 358/2 Days OST)

"I've missed you my darling," Hiashi said softly.

Hitomi smiled, tears in her eyes. "And I've missed you too. But that's not what I want to tell you." Hiashi looked confused.

"I don't want you to stay lonely and unhappy for the rest of your life. I want you to find love again, and to cherish her just as much as you did me," she said.

"I don't understand?" Hiashi replied.

"I want you to live on. Not just physically, but mentally as well. I want you to find love again. I want you to move on. For me. I'm not saying forget me, but I do want you to move on. Will you do this for me?"

Hiashi was in tears. "I will, if it means so much to you," he sobbed, five years of tears flowing out of his eyes.

"Thank you. And I want you to agree to Josh dating Hinata. I've been watching them and I know that Josh can make her so very happy," said Hitomi.

Hiashi nodded mutely.

"Know that I will always love you. Even when someone new will fill your heart again, I will still love you. And I expect you to lead a full life before I see you on this side," Hitomi smiled. "Now go get Josh so I can record messages for Hinata and Hanabi."

* * *

]-First POV-[

I saw Hiashi walk out, his eyes a little red. His eyes locked with mine, and he smiled.

"Hitomi wants you back in there," he said. I nodded and re-entered the conference room. I saw Hitomi on the screen. I disconnected the iPhone and watched the Hyuga on the small screen. I pressed the record button.

"Go ahead," I said.

* * *

(AN: Here is the new chapter. I feel quite proud of this one for some reason. So put up your reviews and tell me what you think. See you next time. Also, if you haven't already done so, can you please vote on the poll that's on my profile? Thank you)


	20. Chapter 20: New Inductions

[AN: Remember that the music tracks listed in this chapter will be online for you to listen while you read. See my profile for details.]

Chapter 20: New Inductions

The end of the meeting went over quite well. There were a few more requests from some of the attendees for me to play their children's moves on the first Storm game. Some hung around afterwards to talk with me about a few things. Eventually everyone left and all that remained was myself, Dawn, Trunks and Rex. Zabuza, Haku, Meizu and Gōzu had gone out to sign up for a C-mission together.

"So do we wake up Kin now?" Dawn asked as we sat around a coffee table in the lounge room.

"Sounds good to me," I replied. "By the way, there's something I've been meaning to ask you Dawn."

"What's that?" she asked.

"Well, it was only one day between gaining your powers and the Kitsuné Army contacting me. How did they know about me?"

"There is a unique youki marker in the youki a Land Guardian has within themselves. The marker simply adjusted to your system. This marker is linked to the Hidden Kitsuné Village in the Summoning World. This way the Nova Generals and the Kitsuné Council can make sure their Lord or Lady is alive or not, and if the marker is moved to a new person. As for knowing who you were, I imagine that a messenger of either James, Elisabeth or Gobi notified the Kitsuné Army, who then notified the Council," Dawn explained.

"That makes sense. And this Sabot character that Rex spoke of?"

"A Kitsuné on the council. He's attached to the more traditional ways. And he dislikes Hanyous of any kind. He also has a large following on the Council. The army, however, is completely unbiased in this matter. At least, they were when I was in power."

* * *

Kin was sleeping in one of the unclaimed bedrooms. She looked quite peaceful, lying there.

"Would you wake up Sleeping Beauty for us Rex?" I asked.

"You mean kiss her?" he replied, grinning.

"You know what I mean, dumbass!" I growled, but I smiled throughout it.

Rex jumped up onto the bed and placed his paw on her forehead. Her onyx eyes fluttered open and she sat up quickly to observe her surroundings. She quickly relaxed once she noticed me.

"Welcome, to the real world," I said in a deep and mysteriously, before being bonked lightly on the head by Dawn.

"Now's not the time to go all Morphius on us Josh," she said.

"My bad," I grinned. "So Kin, do you remember what we talked about?"

"Yes," she nodded.

(Cue song Saiku by Taniuchi Hideki from DEATH NOTE Original Soundtrack III)

]-Flashback-[

_"Now for you Miss. Sound Kunoichi." At this Kin stiffened in my grip. "I just want to ask you a few questions, and I want you to be completely truthful in your answers. And if you're worried about a certain someone overhearing your answer, then don't worry," I said in a voice that would be heard commenting on the weather. I paused at this and she nodded slightly._

_"Ok. First question. If you had the opportunity to escape from Orochimaru and the Sound alive, and continue to live afterwards, would you take it?" As I spoke the question, Dawn moved to look directly into Kin's eyes._

_Kin was silent for a few seconds before she replied, "Yes." Dawn nodded at me, indicating that it was the truth._

_"Good. Second question. Do you have any positive emotions towards Orochimaru." Here she said no quite strongly. Again Dawn nodded._

_"You're doing very well. The next question is this. If you had an invitation to join a clan who would treat you right and take care of you, would you take it?"_

_Again she nodded. And again Dawn nodded with her._

_"Good. Last question. Will you join my clan, the Kitsuné Clan?" Here Kin paused as she seemed to think over the opportunity she was given. However, after a minute of silence, she nodded. Dawn looked at me and smiled._

]-Flashback End-[

"Good, you remember. Do you still stand by your decision? Last chance to back out," I warned her.

"I won't back out. I hate Orochimaru for what he did to my sister!" she said, grinding her teeth.

'I didn't know she had a sister,' I thought. "What happened?" I asked gently, letting her know with my voice and body language that I wouldn't push her if she didn't want to explain.

Kin sniffed. "She was used in sick experiments by Orochimaru," she said while she glared at the floor in fury. "She didn't survive. Orochimaru said that if I didn't want that to happen to me, then I should be loyal to him. The only reason I didn't run away the first chance I got was because I had nowhere else to go." At this point tears were collecting at her eyes, but she stubbornly refused to let them go.

I just wrapped my arms around her with Dawn doing the same. This was all that was needed to release the emotional barrier that Kin had been hiding behind and her tears flowed out in full force.

We stayed like that for several minutes until Kin had finished. She was now just hiccupping every now and then.

"Feel better?" I asked.

She nodded.

"Good. Well, this is your room, if you like. We'll-" I was interrupted as there was a puff of smoke and there, kneeling next to me, was a black 7-tailed Kitsuné.

(Cue song Defense Line by Steve Jablonsky, Trevor Morris from Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars)

"Commander," Capitan Yamu spoke. "Preparations are complete. All three wish to speak with you, but Jugo has some reservations about meeting with you, worried he might be in his killing state when you visit. I've one of my subordinates watching over him. He'll let us know if he's safe to approach or not."

"Good work Capitan," I replied. I turned back to Kin who was staring in awe at the black talking fox. "Sorry, but I've some business to attend to. I'll have someone show you around the complex." I then flipped through the seals for summoning and called out, "Cloud!"

A puff of smoke later stood Cloud in his armour.

"Yes, my Lord?" he asked.

"Could you take Kin on the grand tour of the Chateau? I have three possible recruits to visit at the moment," I said.

"I will, my Lord," he replied.

I sighed. "I really got to get used to being called that," I muttered. I then turned back to Kin. "I suggest you stay inside for today, as any spies of Orochimaru might recognise you. Tomorrow we'll go clothes shopping; get a haircut and so on so you'll be unnoticed to them. Is this ok?"

She nodded. "Thank you for this chance to start over," she said.

"No problem" I smiled. I then turned to Trunks. "Do you have the package ready?" I asked. Trunks nodded before dashing out of the room and returning a minute later with a small scroll in his hand. "Got it!" he said before tucking the scroll into a pocket. I nodded before turning back to Capitan Yamu. "Trunks, Rex, Dawn and I are ready to go now."

* * *

(Cue song Find Your Way – Arrange by SQUARE ENIX MUSIC from DISSIDIA 012 [duodecim] FINAL FANTASY Original Soundtrack)

The first place we stopped at was the lab where Orochimaru did experiments on Suigetsu. Getting past the security was a cinch.

The lab was filled with metal pipes and holding glass tubes filled with water. The place was quite ominous.

We walked further in, toward the back of the room, and soon we came face to face with a second black Kitsuné; this one had five tails.

"Capitan! Commander!" the unnamed Kitsuné saluted.

"Sergeant Major Kogiro," nodded Yamu in acknowledgment.

"This is the container housing Suigetsu-san," he reported.

"Good work," I said, before I walked up to the glass and placed my hand on the container.

"So you're the one, eh?" spoke a voice from the tank, though it looked like it was only filled with water.

"That I am, Suigetsu," I answered.

"My new friend over there told me that you would release me from this damned place?" he asked.

"Soon. First I want to know a little bit more about you, Suigetsu," I said.

"And if my sparkling personality is not to your liking? You'll leave me here?" he asked.

"Not at all. Your freedom does not hinge upon you joining up with me. I promise that as soon as I learn more, I will free you, and you can do as you wish," I promised.

There was a pause. "Where to begin? I come from Kirigakure where I, along with my brother, aspired to join the Seven Swordsman of the Mist. My brother eventually attained the rank, but it was short lived when he was killed. Afterwards I wanted to collect all the seven swords, but I no longer care about that. I just want to be free of this place. I'm not sure what I would do afterwards. Despite wanting to be part of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist in the past, I'm not a fan of killing, but will do so to protect myself. However my skills with a sword are adequate."

"I see. What would you do if I offered you a place, not only within my clan, but also a spot on my special swordsman group that I'm building. Zabuza has already joined," I said.

"Zabuza?" Suigetsu asked in shock. "The Demon of the Hidden Mist?"

"The very same, though he's considerably less demon-like than he makes out to be. I fought and defeated him in Wave about a month ago, and since then he, and his friends, have joined my clan. I will not ask you to bow down to me. We would be equals in all but clan status as I am the clan head. And finally, I would get you a brand new sword, shaped to your personality. I already have a good idea on what type it will be. But first things first." I drew White Requiem and sliced a deep gash in the tank. Water burst out from the crack and pooled on the floor. After a few seconds a head emerged from the puddle. He had Alice blue hair and purple eyes, like mine but lighter.

"That's a mighty impressive sword you have there. But after all this, I still don't know your name," he said, grinning. Unlike his anime profile, he didn't have shark like teeth. But he did have a set of large fangs on him, with one poking out of his mouth slightly.

"I apologise. My name is Uzumaki Naruto. Pleasure to meet you," I introduced.

"Hozuki Suigetsu. Likewise," he replied.

I waited as Suigetsu slowly rose out of the water, completely naked.

"Do you think you could put some clothes on?" I asked.

He laughed. "Sorry, sorry. It just feels so good to be out. And I don't think there are any spare clothes around."

"Well, it just so happens I brought a set of clothes and shoes you can use." I turned to Trunks. "Think you could unseal the package?" I asked. In turn he nodded and pulled out the scroll from before. He unfurled it in midair, pressed his hand to the correct space and a puff of smoke later revealed a pair of black skater shoes designed for ninja use, a pale aqua muscle shirt and sky blue cargo pants.

"Thanks a bunch," Suigetsu said as Trunks handed him the clothes. A few minutes later he was clothed and ready to go.

"You look good in that," I commented before sticking out my hand to him. "So what's your decision?"

Suigetsu clasped my hand without hesitation. "I'll join you Naruto. My gut tells me that sticking around you will be fun."

I grinned a Grimmjow grin. "You have no idea."

"So where are we going?" Suigetsu asked.

"We're picking up two other people. I think you'll find you know them," I replied mysteriously. We walked over to Capitan Yamu.

"Are you ready to go to the next destination?" he asked.

"That we are," I nodded. I turned to Suigetsu as Trunks and Dawn placed their hands on shoulder while I placed mine on Yamu. "You might want to hold onto us." Suigetsu quickly placed his hand on my shoulder too and we were whisked off to the next spot.

* * *

(Cue song Underground Complex by Masashi Hamauzu from DIRGE of CERBERUS -FINAL FANTASY VII- MULTIPLAYER MODE Original Sound Collections)

We appeared standing on the ocean, using waterwalking training to keep ourselves on top. In front of us was a small island mountain.

"Th-this place is..." Suigetsu began.

"That's right. It's the Southern Hideout," I said.

"So who's the lucky person getting out?"

"Her name is Karin," I replied, looking sideways to gauge Suigetsu's reaction.

"Why Karin? Unlike me, she's a follower of Orochimaru. The warden of this place where Orochimaru kept his test subjects locked up. After claiming to be under Orochimaru's orders, she tinkered with my body countless times. Besides, her personality turns me off," Suigetsu told me.

"I think you'll find that it was all a front. To survive, sometimes a mask is needed to hide your true feelings," I replied, thinking back to Naruto's past.

"Maybe," the white-blue haired young man replied.

We walked toward a cave that led to the inside of the mountain. The tunnel did not last for long as we walked out of it to see a large door.

"There's hardly any security round here. At least build a fence," noted Suigetsu.

"Don't worry. She's expecting us," I said.

"Still, it's too quiet."

We reached the door, but it showed no signs of opening. I knocked. "Hello! Anybody home?" I called, but nothing.

"Tch! Guess I need a key," I grinned as I brought White Requiem around and charged it with my Ki. "Ikkyu Nyu KON!" I called out as I brought the blade down and blasted the doors wide apart with the Ki blast.

We walked inside, past the staring prisoners. A little further up was another black 5-tailed fox, waiting for us.

"Capitan! Commander!" a female voice came from the fox, indicating that it was a vixen. She snapped to attention.

"At ease," I said and she relaxed.

"Well done First Lieutenant Serena. Is the target aware of our entrance?" Yamu asked.

"Yes sir. I let her know that the Commander was arriving today. She's curious about you," she replied, talking to me.

"Well then, let's go introduce ourselves," I said, but at that point someone walked out of the shadows behind Serena and stood there. She had bright lolly red hair and a pair of brown glasses in front of her red eyes. The hair was long and straight on her left side while being ruffled on her right. She was dressed in a lavender uniform common for Orochimaru's subordinates, short black hotpants, and long black thigh high stockings with black sandals.

"So you must be the Commander. Nice to finally meet you. My name is Karin," the red head introduced herself.

"Pleasure to meet you Karin. My name is Naruto Uzumaki. This is Trunks and-" I didn't get very far before she gave out a squeal and instantly latched onto the lavender kitsune.

"Hello Trunks..." she practically purred at him, blushing and looking at him with desire and lust.

"Uh... h-hello?" Trunks replied, quite nervous at how Karin was looking at him.

'Huh...' I thought to myself before mentally shrugging. 'Well better him than Sasuke.'

"Heh! I always knew there was a hidden side to you Karin," Suigetsu grinned.

"S-S-S-Suigetsu!" she cried out before she detached herself from Trunks and pointed at the white haired teenager, her demeanour completely different. "W-W-What are you doing here idiot?"

"I was freed by Naruto here and decided to join his little group. Why he wants you to join, I'll never know," replied Suigetsu.

"That's for me to know and for you to find out later," I said. "Now Karin, do you have any qualms about freeing these prisoners and joining us? You will be a part of my clan but you will not be of lesser status than me in most aspects. In clan matters, you are required to follow my instructions, but most of the time I will give you the freedom of choice. You are not required to join up to escape this place. If you wish I will give you enough money to help start your new life, if this is what you wish. If you join you will be under my command, not Konoha's. Do you understand?"

She nodded. "I will join you," she said, sending a not-too-discrete glance at Trunks. "And I will release the prisoners. They are all innocents anyways."

"Welcome to the Kitsuné Clan," I smiled as I put forward my hand, which she shook.

* * *

"Ok, so where are we going now?" asked Suigetsu. We had freed all the prisoners on the island and had given them each enough money to help them begin their new life. The Namikaze fortune made this possible, and I had barely scratched the surface of the incredible sum of money in the Namikaze accounts.

"Now we are to pick up our final possible recruit. Capitan," I said and Yamu appeared in front of me.

"Yes Commander?"

"Can you talk to your subordinate and ask him if Jugo is safe to approach at this point?"

"Hai, Commander!" replied Yamu before taking out a small earpiece and mic and attached it to his right ear. As he got a status report, I confronted Suigetsu and Karin's questions.

(Cue song Worrying Occurrence by Hamaguchi Shirou from Ah! My Goddess TV OST 2)

"You're going to see Jugo?" Karin asked.

"Why him?" Suigetsu asked.

"Because his real self doesn't deserve to be on Orochimaru's side. I plan to seal and eventually exorcise his demonic side. I don't know how yet, but I will find a way," I explained. "I have a temporary solution for the moment."

"Sir!" called Yamu, directing my attention to the black furred Capitan. "My subordinate over at Orochimaru's Northern Base reports that Jugo is calm and willing to talk. However the area is heavily guarded so teleporting into a safe room inside the base is our only option."

"That's fine Capitan. Ready when you are," I said before placing my hand on the black kitsuné. Trunks, Dawn and Suigetsu placed their hands on my shoulders. Suigetsu turned to Karin.

"Unless you want to be left behind, I suggest you hang on to someone," he smirked. I sighed audibly as Karin immediately latched onto Trunks.

"We're ready," I said. In an instant later we teleported.

* * *

(Cue song Research Initiative by Steve Jablonsky, Trevor Morris from Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars)

We teleported into a dark room. There wasn't much inside, a few chairs was about all. And there was a six tailed black male fox on the other side of the room from us. Serena and Kogiro approached him and they patted each other on the backs.

"Second Lieutenant Tyrus," acknowledged Yamu.

"Capitan," saluted Tyrus smartly. "Commander," he repeated the gesture to me. I nodded at him. "Jugo is a few rooms down the hall outside."

"Enemy positions?" I asked.

"They are mostly concentrated around the outer perimeter with very few guards patrolling the halls. We should be able to make it to Jugo without being noticed," reported the soldier.

"Very good. Let's go," I said and we slipped out the door.

Tyrus was right and we had an easy time reaching Jugo's room with no interruptions, which was great since I knew what happened at this particular hideout. We paused outside the room as Tyrus cried out softly in a peculiar tone. We were rewarded when an odd noise came from within the room.

"All clear," Tyrus said and opened the door.

Inside was dusty and still. The stench of death was strong in this room. I resisted the urge to pinch my hyper sensitive nose and looked around, finding Jugo immediately. He was sitting with his knees to his chest. He wore pale green shorts and a pale blue shirt. He slowly looked up at me with orange eyes and his orange hair seemed to glow through the dark room.

"Are you the one? Naruto Uzumaki?" he asked in a soft voice.

"I am. I've come to take you away from here and to help you either completely suppress or destroy your murderous side," I offered.

He looked at me for a long moment before slowly getting up. "Very well," he said.

'Huh, that was easy. Guess Kimimaro hasn't made much of an impression on him yet. Good thing too, or otherwise I might not of been able to recruit him,' I thought to myself.

"Ok. I have a temporary solution until I figure out something more permanent. Do you want me to go ahead?" I asked. He nodded. In response I took out a scroll and unsealed a brush and ink. After asking Jugo to lie down, I began to draw a single seal on each of the backs of his hands, the soles of his feet and on his forehead. This was an extension of the Five Elements Seal I created for youki use while Hinata was training in the training room. As what was needed to seal was Jugo's bad side, I needed to amp up the seal and energy used to seal the beast away.

"This next bit could be quite dangerous. I need you to think about your dark side and bring it to the forefront of your mind just before I activate the seal. Since that dark side is separate to your real side, it should be sealed without sealing the good side too. I hope," I explained to Jugo. He looked a little tense but he nodded. "Ready when you are."

(Cue song Opening Credits by Michael McCann from Deus Ex: Human Revolution OST)

I summoned about half a tails worth of my youki into my hand and hovered it a centimetre away from the seal on his head. I nodded and waited. After only several seconds, black marks began to spread over his arm and across his lower face. Unlike the Cursed Seal of Heaven where the markings spread out from the main seal, these marks just appeared.

I instantly pressed my hand against the seal I painted and watched in fascination as the five seals lit up in golden colour. Then something interesting happened. The light from the seals began to spread over his body like a curtain of golden light, while the black markings glowed black, if that was even possible, and also began to spread. Eventually Jugo's whole body was covered in glowing gold and black, bout 70/30. Where the colours met, energy sparked off. But it seemed the gold was already too strong and began to overwhelm the black. Soon, there was no black at all. Then the golden glow seemed to seep into his body, leaving the five seals to continue to glow for a few seconds before dying down. Then the seals turned invisible.

"Phew!" I breathed out heavily. "It worked! Not what I was expecting but the results are the same."

Jugo opened his eyes and looked quite shocked. I noticed this. "You alright?" I asked, hoping there were no negative side effects.

"Before, there were always murderous whisperings in my head, but now there's silence. Blissful silence," Jugo replied. He then began to actually cry.

"Hey, big guy! It's all going to be ok," I said, hoping to calm him down. In the end he just cried harder. He then looked up at me.

"Thank you Naruto. Thank you. Thank you."

I just smiled. "No problem."

* * *

[AN: I know that 1) it was very easy to recruit these three to my side and 2) that they are three years older then what they should currently be. First off, I couldn't think of a plausible story on them joining up. So I've gone with the easy way. If you don't like it, either give me a better idea and I will redo this chapter based on which idea I like the best, or just ignore it. Secondly, I wanted the three to be at Shippuden age instead of them being 13 years old. Review up guys and girls. And remember to vote on the new poll on my profile. To vote for which story you want to come out first. See you soon.]


	21. Chapter 21: Training Time!

**Chapter 21: Training Time!**

(Cue song The Bannered Mare by Jeremy Soule from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Original Soundtrack)

By the time we got back, it was late evening and the sun was already down. So instead Trunks showed Suigetsu, Jugo and Karin around the Kitsuné Chateau while Dawn and I got to work on preparing dinner.

One of the discoveries I had made while exploring the Chateau was that the kitchen was very big and very high class. There were many pieces of equipment to work with, like in a commercial kitchen. And so it was always fun to cook there. I had learned how to cook quite well while I was living alone after moving out. But Mum gave me a large recipe book full of her and my stepdad's recipes. An item that Ken was kind enough to transfer into this world. At the moment I was creating dough for a sourdough loaf of bread, one of my stepdad's specialties. Dawn worked on the beginnings of making chicken, veg and rice noodle soup.

As we worked with some of Ministry of Sound: Uncovered Vol.2 music playing in the background, Kin came to sit on one of the stools at the outer bench, watching us. I looked over. "What's up Kin?" I asked.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Making tonight's bread," I said as I emptied the dough into a metal container and placed the container into a bread maker before closing the lid and setting the temperature. I then leaned against the counter.

"So, are you finding your way around alright?" I asked.

"Yeah. Cloud helped me with that." Kin's eyes shifted down and she paused for a moment before looking up at me. "There's something I need to tell you," she said.

"Go on," I replied with Dawn finishing up and coming to stand next to me with her arm wrapped around my waist.

"Well, you see... Orochimaru is planning an invasion of Konoha. It's going to be jointly executed with Suna. And it's going to happen in the Third Exam," she said.

I smiled. "I already know this, but thank you for telling me. It tells me that you really do want nothing from Orochimaru."

"But I already said-"

"I know. But in this day and age, you can never be too careful with spies and such. I hope you can understand," I replied.

She was silent for a few moments before nodding. "Yeah, I guess I can understand."

"Now that you have 'proved yourself' in a manner of speaking, I will tell you a secret of mine. But not now. I need to share this secret with Karin, Suigetsu and Jugo as well," I said.

Kin nodded before leaving the kitchen. I then picked up my iPhone and called Ken.

* * *

(Cue song Out of the Cold by Jeremy Soule from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Original Soundtrack)

The next few hours went surprisingly well. Dinner was served; chicken and veg noodle soup with fresh, hot sourdough bread. And afterwards, I told and showed the newcomers of my, Dawn's and Trunks' real identities, my titles of Guardian of the Fire Country, Lord of all Foxes and Commander of the 10 million strong kitsuné army, and my plans for Orochimaru. After they got over their initial shock they took it surprisingly well. Zabuza and the others helped out when they could.

"Now that that is taken care of, I will show you to your rooms, unless Trunks already did that?" I asked, to which he shook his head.

We then trouped upstairs and I showed everyone their new rooms. I made sure that they had PJs that fit them before leaving them to change. Then I trouped upstairs to see that the new sword I ordered from Ken was already on my bed.

It was beautiful. Its dimensions were the same as Cloud's Buster Sword from Final Fantasy VII, but that's where all similarities ended. The sword, from tip to handle, was approximately 5 to 6 feet long, with a single-edged, 13 inch wide blade. The blade itself was a dark blue colour with the edge considerably lighter; azure blue. The whole surface of the blade looked like you were underwater, looking to the sun. A winged motif at its base, made with BrightSteel. The handle was of simple make, encased in navy blue hard leather.

"Wow! What a sword!" I said in awe. "Ken sure knows how to make em." I then noticed a note next to the blade. Opening it up, I saw that it was Ken's writing.

_Per your request for a water elemental sword, this blade itself is made of Oceanium, a strong metal that has the Water element at its very core, allowing it to break up into water molecules and reform at the user's will and chakra. Useful for surprise attacks and excellent for directing and channelling Water elemental jutsus. _

"Sweet!" I grinned before picking up the blade, noticing that it was very light for its size. I then walked down a level and made my way over to Suigetsu's new room. I knocked and Suigetsu opened the door. He was already dressed in light blue loose pants and shirt.

"Oh, hey Josh. What's..." he dribbled off when he saw the sword in my hand.

"Here's your new sword," I grinned before handing it to him. Suigetsu just took it, opened mouthed and eyed.

"So beautiful..." he whispered.

"The blade itself is made of Oceanium, a strong metal that has the Water element at its very core, allowing it to break up into water molecules and reform at the user's will and chakra. Useful for surprise attacks and excellent for directing and channelling Water elemental jutsus," I repeated Ken's written explanation of the metal used in the construction.

"Th... thank you Josh. This is... this is way more cooler than any of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist's swords. Even more than Kisame-san's Samehada!" the ex-mist ninja said.

"Glad you think so. And I'm glad you like the sword," I smiled. "Good night Suigetsu."

"Yeah... good night," Suigetsu replied distractedly. I just grinned and closed the door. Then I went back downstairs and proceeded to play some more Ultimate Celestial Ninja with Dawn and Trunks.

* * *

(Cue song Kitai by Yoshihisa Hirano and Hideki Taniuchi from DEATH NOTE Original Soundtrack I)

Day 1

The next day was quite busy, for we were buying the four new clan members some clothes. It was probably a strange site to see a crowd of people; as Zabuza, Haku and the twins decided to join us; move from store to store. I gave the four some money each so they could pay the usual price for them, as I was still the bane of Konoha. I may be richer than God, but that didn't mean I had to be irresponsible with money.

Suigetsu got mostly watery blues and purples for his casual wear, but his mission outfit was a surprise. He got black and white skate shoes with yellow laces designed for ninja use, a black zip-up tank-top, a white and bright gold open vest and sky blue cargo pants held up by a black belt. He didn't know it, but he just dressed like Riku from Kingdom Hearts 2.

Karin decided to stick with the style of clothing she already wore; short black hotpants, long black thigh high stockings with black sandals. But the top changed style. She instead began to wear a more revealing lavender tube top which showed a small amount of cleavage; to which she had no reservations in showing off to a slightly blushing Trunks.

Jugo chose earthy browns and greens for his clothes, which were mostly t-shirts and simple pants. He had asked that he not fight and I agreed. He said that he would be happy just working around the house and being the gardener as he enjoyed working with nature.

Kin's transformation was the most surprising. Her very long black hair was cut short so it now it was shorter than neck length. Now that she wasn't wearing her Oto headband, her bangs and fringe were loose, decreasing her recognisability with other Sound ninja. She had borrowed a red t-shirt and black pants from Dawn so she wouldn't wear her Oto Kunoichi outfit out in public. After shopping for clothes, she had, surprisingly, opted for whites, blues and purples. She wore a white and blue halter top with indigo lace edges, a thin coat of the same colours and design as the halter top, a pair of short shorts also in the same design and colour, blue zori and shin high silk white and blue socks with an indigo ribbon tied around the tops. After she put them on, she looked just like Xianghua from Soul Calibur 4. Her hairstyle was also identical to Xianghua's from the same game, even the small cylinders that her bangs threaded through, though Xianghua's were more bead like. Kin's were silver. And she again surprised me when she opted to wear a bit of makeup and painted on light pink lipstick on her lips. She looked very girly indeed.

But her mission outfit was more serious. She wore a black jacket and short skirt with a wide brown leather belt wrapped around her stomach and two smaller brown belts that draped over her uncovered thighs. The sleeves of the jacket ended mid bicep and she wore long black fingerless gloves. Black boots and thigh high stockings that looked more like the ends of a pair of pants finished off the look. This outfit was closer to Nel Zelpher's outfit from Star Ocean: Till the End of Time. It looked good.

Now that all the shopping had been done, it was time to get cracking with training for the next month in preparation for the joint Sand/Sound invasion. With Kin confirming the details and learning that, as far as she was concerned, there were no differences between this invasion and the one from the Naruto series, we concentrated on countering each of the plans Orochimaru would have.

After a few days of going over my jutsu and seeing which ones needed more training done on them, Jiraiya came by to begin training. Dawn, Trunks and I followed him out to a large training field on a cliff that overlooked a large forest. There was a waterfall and a decent large stream.

"Ok. First I'm going to teach you how to summon!" Jiraiya said, grinning. He seemed to be expecting me to be excited.

"Uhh, Jiraiya? Have you forgotten that I can summon 10 million foxes here with little to no chakra exhaustion thanks to my status as the Commander of the Kitsuné Army," I asked.

"Well... no... but I'll be showing you how to summon Toads!" Again he was expecting me to jump up and down in excitement.

(Cue song Snow's Theme by Masashi Hamauzu from Final Fantasy XIII Original Soundtrack)

"Sorry, but no. Not only can I summon a large number of very deadly foxes, I can also summon others. Observe." I then pulled out the Bahamut Materia. I flooded the materia with chakra and the materia changed into a ball of white-blue energy. I flung the ball into the sky and as it ascended, a large and wide circle of glyphs and seals pulsed out of the ball before fading. The sky became heavily overcast and clouded. Then the middle clouds began to swirl faster and faster, as if a tornado was going to form. A bright blue light emanated from the middle before a blue streak of energy shot out of the clouds and barrelled towards us at high speeds. The comet drew closer and closer before it stopped, pulsing out a wave of blue energy which froze and shattered like glass, revealing a large western styled dragon. It looked like Tiamat from Final Fantasy VIII with dark blue wings and a black body with gold etchings around his scales.

**"My name is Bahamut. How may I serve you?"** the dragon spoke in a deep booming baritone.

"I just wanted to show this man here that I was already quite capable in summoning," I called to Bahamut while pointing to a currently gaping Jiraiya. Trunks was laughing loudly at Jiraiya's reaction and Dawn had a large grin on her own face.

Bahamut blinked and his eyes hardened. **"You summoned me to show off?**" he asked with a stern undertone.

"I guess so, but Jiraiya here is very perverted. Would you rather I summon Shiva and she turn him into a meat Popsicle, accidently killing him when he tries to cop a feel of her breasts?"

**"Good point,"** Bahamut replied.

"Don't worry. I have a feeling I'll need your help soon in the future," I said.

**"Very well. Summon me when you are in need of my talents,"** the dragon said before he began to glow and he shot into the clouds once again. The clouds instantly dispersed and the red crystal fell from the sky and I caught it easily. I pocketed the crystal and looked at Jiraiya. "There you have it Jiraiya. I'm pretty sure I'm covered when it comes to summoning."

"Tha... tha... th... tha... th... that... that...," was all he said for the rest of the day.

* * *

Day 5

(Cue song Car24 by Yoko Kanno from Cowboy Bebop Original Soundtrack 1)

"Ok, I've been very busy, but I think it's time to get my elemental nature checked. I know that Naruto's was wind, but I'm not sure if the fusion changed or added a new element to the mix. Now where do I get some chakra paper?"

I sat on the couch and rubbed my chin in thought. "I bet Kakashi would have some. And if not, he can at least point me in the right direction."

So 20 minutes later saw me, Rex, Dawn and Trunks outside Kakashi's flat unit, knocking on his door. One time we hung out at his place for a bit, which was how I knew where to go this time.

"Oh, hello guys. What brings you here today?" he asked when he opened the door.

"Just wondering if you had any chakra paper. I need to check my elemental nature," I replied.

"Sure. I remember seeing a stack somewhere round here. Come on in," he said before opening the door further and stepping aside to let us in.

Kakashi's place was quite minimalistic. A large cream coloured couch with two recliners surrounding a glass table on a brown striped rug and a long chest of draws made up the living room. On the chest of draws there were many pictures of past friends that had passed away. There was even one of him and Gai doing some stupid contest thing.

Dawn, Trunks, Rex and I sat on the couch with me in the middle. We didn't have to wait long before Kakashi came back in with a stack of cards that looked like Kabuto's nin-info cards. Probably the same type of card used.

"Here you go, though with your knowledge I would have thought you would have known this," the spiky silver haired ninja said.

"I do. Wind. But the fusion could have changed things. And there are some differences between this world and the story based on it in my own world," I replied before picking up a card and channelling my chakra into it. The effects were instant. First the card split cleanly in four. From there four separate effects took place. One burst into flames, another crumpled up, the third got quite soggy with condensation and the last split several times over itself.

"Wow... I guess I have four elemental natures. Wind is what I expected from Naruto as Minato was also wind. Fire is a little surprising, but not completely unexpected as my Youki is fire elemental based. Water I'm guessing Naruto got from his mother, Kushina and Lightning is my own element. Cool," I listed off.

"That's amazing Josh! I never expected to see someone with four elemental natures," Kakashi said.

"I guess it is," I replied modestly. "With massive amounts of training, I could probably create and use several new elemental styles. Like Hyòton; using wind and water, or creating my very own, using fire and wind. What would I call fire and wind?" I wondered to myself while Kakashi was blinking in surprise at me.

"I know. Fire and Wind will become Yakeruton (Flare Style)! That's a sweet name for the style," I grinned to myself.

"Sounds like a good name," added Dawn, grasping my free hand and squeezing it.

I stood up. "Thanks Kakashi! See you later!" And with that we left to begin training. Leaving a shocked Kakashi to replay what I just said in my mind, and wonder how on earth I could talk about elemental fusion in such a laid back manner.

* * *

Day 10

The past week had been very busy. While in the Training Room, I had been using 500 Kage Bunshin each concentrating on perfecting each of my elements. So far, progress was going great. But I knew that fusing two or three elements was going to be very hard.

Today's training was done in real time, as opposed to time in the Training Room. But it was put on hold when Zack sent Cloud to me to tell me that three Inuzuka clan members were out front. I was in the middle of training under the waterfall while my 2000 clone army was elemental training in a large field at the back that was bigger than the front lawns.

"Wonder what they want?" I asked myself as I walked bare-chested through the entrance hall wearing a pair of dry azure track pants and a white towel around my neck. Cloud opened the front door as I was drying my hair and saw Kiba, Tsume and a brown hared woman who also sported the Inuzuka red fang symbols on her cheeks, but her hair was a lot more tamer than Kiba's or Tsume's. Apart from two thin bangs, most of her hair was pulled into a tight ponytail at the back. I then realised that this was Hana, Kiba's older sister.

"Hello there Kiba, Tsume. Good to see you two." I then turned to Hana, who was struggling to keep her eyes on my face and not on my well chiselled chest. I quickly flew through Naruto's memories and found out that he had never met Hana. "I don't believe we've met miss. The name's Uzumaki Naruto. Nice to meet you," I stuck my hand out and she shook it.

"Likewise Naruto. Hana Inuzuka," she replied. I dipped my head slightly in acknowledgement.

"So what brings the whole Inuzuka clan to my doorstep?" I asked.

Tsume looked pointedly at both Kiba and Hana before speaking, "'If you want to know the truth, you must have the courage to accept it.'"

I blinked. "You sure? Hana might be able to take it but do you think Kiba will?" I asked seriously, hair drying completely forgotten.

"Yes. He's been talking about you almost nonstop for the past week and a half. I think he'll be fine," Tsume replied.

"What are you two talking about?" Kiba asked, a little put out that we were talking about him, and a little curious.

I sighed. "Well you might as well come on in and get comfortable. It's going to be a long talk."

* * *

Day 16

(Cue song Wandering Sophie by Joe Hisaishi from Howl's Moving Castle Original Soundtrack)

After that day, Kiba had been included in our training group. At first he didn't believe what he was hearing, and I didn't blame him. But then I showed footage of him doing the Garoga (Wolf Fang Over Fang) on Naruto: Storm 1. I then sprouted off a few details about him that Naruto would have never known about him prior to the time skip. I then showed him my white PS3 and my white iPhone 4S. He then accepted that what I was saying was the truth. I then allowed him access to see my true form. He was very surprised, but wasn't judgemental of me. That meant a lot. I doubt he would have been so easy to accept me if his attitude with me hadn't done a 180 after the second exam.

Hana was a little easier to win over that I was the real deal; however she was too busy with vet work. She did come over with Kiba to visit sometimes.

Kiba and I quickly grew into good friends. He seemed to look up to me, and I theorised that since his father ran away from Tsume's aggressive nature, he had no dominant male role model. There was only Tsume and Hana as most on the clan was killed in Dawn's genjutsu induced rampage.

When Kiba learned the truth about what happened with the Kyuubi and that she was just as much a victim as the last three members of the Inuzuka clan, he accepted the facts well. Tsume backing me up as well seemed to help a lot. But when he found out that Dawn was the Kyuubi, he grumbled out, "You lucky dog, you."

Another person who visited the Kitsuné Chateau was Hinata. Bout halfway through the month hiatus, she came knocking with Hiashi. The Hyuga Clan Head requested that I train her further when I could spare the time. I agreed, telling him that because of my special training method, I was able to be free to do other things, such as muscle training and meditation. When I mentioned the meditation, I think that shocked Hiashi slightly; probably though I was still like Naruto in some aspects.

At one point I was doing my meditation sitting on the stone slab balanced on top of the stone spike under the waterfall out back when Hinata came to call. Since she had been ok'ed by me to Zack and Cloud, they let her in, saying that I was out back. When Hinata came through and saw me meditating, _topless_, well the usual happened and she fainted. Luckily she landed on grass so no damage was done.

I kept the training days between Hinata and Kiba separate as I didn't want Kiba to slip up around his teammate. I fully expected Hinata to believe me, but I was worried that her crush on Naruto would break her heart. I liked her, but would she like me after the truth was revealed? So caution was needed until Hinata was strong enough mentally to be told the truth. I just hoped she wouldn't be mad at me.

At one point I went to visit Lee and see how he was doing. The kid was completely depressed at his helplessness and at the fact that his chances of completely recovering were slim. Dawn, Trunks and I cheered him up as much as possible, which wasn't much at all.

"I wish there was something I could do for him to get him better," I said as we walked out of the hospital. "But I don't know any medical jutsu. We'll just have to get Tsunade back after the Chunin Exams."

"There might be a way to 100% heal him," Dawn said, stopping as she thought it over. "Yes, there is. Change him into some sort of hanyou. The youki would heal any injury and would probably fix his chakra problems as well."

"But would he accept it?" I asked.

"I don't know. But we should get Tsunade first. See what she can do," the red vixen replied.

* * *

Day 20

Today I took a break from training to do something special for Hayate. The day before I summoned Kaiden and asked if I could meet with the best doctor that the Hidden Kitsuné Village had. He told me that his name was Doctor Nuro and that he was on the summoning roster. All I had to do was to call out his name while summoning.

So I did so and found out he was a nice guy. He was an old kitsune with long silver hair, blue eyes, six tails and wore a pair of teashades. I told him that the guy I wanted him to look at had a childhood sickness, but I wasn't sure exactly what it was. But I said that he has a chronic cough. His first guess was asthma. I then called Hayate over and Yùgao also came along.

"Hello Josh, what's up?" Hayate asked.

"Just thinking that I can possibly cure that sickness of yours," I replied, while smiling.

"Really?" Yùgao asked in surprise and hope.

I nodded. "I called a doctor from the Hidden Kitsuné Village. He says he's confident that he can cure the problem." We then walked into the lounge room where Doctor Nuro was, in his hanyou form, wearing a pair of grey pants, navy blue shirt and a white lab coat. He still wore his teashade glasses.

(Cue song Suiri by Taniuchi Hideki from DEATH NOTE Original Soundtrack II)

"Ah, you must be Hayate," Nuro said as he extended his hand to the sickly man, who shook it.

"Gekkou Hayate, doc. This is Uzuki Yùgao, my girlfriend," Hayate introduced.

"Nice to meet you," Yùgao said.

"Likewise," the doctor replied. "Well Hayate, could you take off your jacket and shirt so I can do a scan?" As he said this, he took out some sort of advanced scanner that looked like the Lantian scanner John Shepard always used in Stargate Atlantis. It was clearly not current tech. I came to the conclusion that the Hidden Kitsuné Village must have used the tech that was in use 10,000 ago before the unnamed war wiped it all out, and evolved from there. Made me wonder what kind of place their village was like.

After running the scanner over Hayate's body, the fox doctor turned off the scanner and sighed. "My boy, you have Lung Cancer. To have lived this long is very lucky indeed."

"Oh no… not Lung Cancer…" I whispered as I went limp from the news.

"What is that? Is it bad?" Yùgao asked.

"Don't you know?" I asked in return.

"Unlike in your home world Commander, Lung Cancer here is extremely rare. A case will pop up every 50 or so years. Even when people have been diagnosed with it, the cell defection will not occur in their children. Most times several generations will pass before it pops up again. So, naturally, the humans of this world have yet to identify the causes and effects lung cancer does," Doctor Nuro replied.

"What's he talking about Josh?" Hayate asked.

"Well, in my world, lung cancer is a common form of cancer. As well as the deadliest. No permanent cure has been found. Is that the case here?" I asked, dreading the answer.

"Not so. The humans of this era have no cure, but 10,000 years ago, they did. The war destroyed the cure, and much of the other medical miracles they had created before and during the war. But the Hidden Kitsuné Village has kept a record of the treatment and cure. Nano-bots sure are versatile, aren't they?"

"Nano-bots are the cure?" I asked. "They were that advanced?"

"Oh yes," the doctor nodded. He then picked out a bottle filled with pills and scanned then with the scanner, imputing commands into the touchscreen. As he did this, Hayate turned to me.

"What are these nano-bots he's talking about?" he asked.

"They are insanely small machines that can swim around in your bloodstream. Theoretically, they can cure any incurable disease after a while by repairing the cells themselves. We don't have anything like that in my homeworld, so I can't say much more than that," I replied.

Doctor Nuro then handed the bottle to Hayate. "Take one pill a day for the next 30 days. These pills have a build-up effect so you won't get instant results. But after a few days you should be feeling better than you have for years. That cough of yours will be gone soon too. When the 30 days are up, get the Commander here to contact me and I'll evaluate you again. It should be gone by then, but encase it isn't I'll prescript you another bottle to use over the second month."

Hayate stood up and bowed to the grey fox. "Thank you so much Doctor Nuro," he said. He then walked up to me and gave me a strong hug. "Thank you Josh." He said softly.

"Yes, thank you very much!" Yùgao added with a kiss on my cheek that had me blushing slightly.

"It's ok. Anything for my friends," I replied.

* * *

Day 25

(Cue song Disc Wars by Daft Punk from Tron Legacy Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

By now I had gotten a hang of elemental manipulation of all four elements thanks to my special training method. Now I began to concentrate all my clones on just one fusion style, the Yakeruton. The whole time I worked on this new style, I trained in the Training Room, so no-one outside the clan could spy on me.

It was hard. Some days I felt that there was no progress at all. It all centred around the right ratio of fire and wind elemental energy. Too much wind and the fire would be snuffed out. Too much fire and the jutsu would become unstable and blow up. I winced every time the memories of my clones getting destroyed by the explosions pounded into my head. Meditation was impossible with this going on, so I took to physical training.

I discovered an interesting side effect to my clones getting blown up from unstable fire jutsus. I was slowly becoming desensitised to close range explosions; flinching less and less and becoming less surprised every time. It wasn't long before my mental state was unflinchingly strong against explosions in my face. This meant that I could keep my cool and focus, even when explosions were happening all around me.

However on the 25th day, I had a breakthrough. I discovered the correct ratio to create blue flames that were five times hotter than regular red and orange flames.

Flare Style was born.

From there I concentrated on using the blue flames to upgrade a few Katon jutsus. Needless to say, now that I knew the knowledge on how to create Yakeruton fire, implementing them into other jutsus was a snap.

Hinata and Kiba were also getting much stronger. Both of them were within Chunin levels of strength now, with Hinata quite a bit more stronger than Kiba thanks to the training we did in the Training Room.

* * *

Day 30

(Cue music silence)

It was the day before the Finals and I was getting some relaxing done. The day before today there was a meeting with everyone who was at the previous one to plan the defence and counterattack strategy against the Sand and Sound. The whole thing was a little stressful as everyone was looking to me to give them details and such.

So today was all about winding down before the exams. Trunks was doing some research in the Konoha Library, Zabuza, Haku and the twins were hanging out together in the city, Karin went to stalk Trunks, Suigetsu was having a nap with Rex and Jugo was talking with the local birds on the happenings around Konoha, hoping to get some extra intel.

Dawn said she had something to do and left, just like that. I wondered if she felt a little ignored from this past month of training and preparing.

'I'll make it up to her when she gets back,' I thought to myself as I walked up the stairs to my bedroom to have a relaxing spa bath. But then I heard some splashing coming from inside the room. I walked silently and opened the door a fraction, only to see a glorious sight.

**WARNING - LEMON AHEAD - WARNING**

(Cue song Garden of Eden by Tony Alexander)

Dawn, standing up in the shower, wearing a glossy azure blue bikini. The kind where it was just two long strips of fabric where they were tied at the neck, crossed over her breasts before wrapping around her back to be tied again at her lower back. And she was rubbing her body with her hands sensually. Her hair was slick and flat against her back, darkened from the water to an almost black colour. Her tail and ears were completely drenched, but still looked beautiful on her.

...bow chika bow wow.

She was also making moaning sounds as she rubbed her covered tits and pussy. And the action was making me very hard. I then blinked. 'Why the hell am I here, behind the door? She's my lover. I should be striding in there and taking her in my arms right now.'

So with that thought, I opened the door fully and strode into the room. Dawn heard me and looked around, only to smile and beckon me closer with a finger.

"Hello there. Fancy meeting you here," I said using my super sexy growly voice.

"I just wanted to make you relax. You've been working so hard these past few weeks," she replied suggestively, making my cock twitch at the sound of her sexy tone.

"Oh, I do need to relax. I hope you can help me with that," I mock wondered as I undressed completely. She glanced down at my member at full salute and grinned at me. "Now we can't have you all stiff like that. You're supposed to be relaxing." I grinned back before stepping into the shower and gathering her up in my arms, quickly getting wet from the shower.

First I leaned against her back and kissed her neck. One hand massaged her left tit while the other rubbed her pussy through her bikini. Her moans were really turning me on and I began to grind my hardened dick against her ass from behind. I pushed my fingers in hard against her pussy and rubbed hard against it, and was rewarded with a loud moan from my princess.

"Oh Josh!" she said huskily as I sped up my movements and began to move forward and back, my dick rubbing between her ass. I moved my hands to massage both of her glorious tits. She spread her legs and my dick dropped between her thighs. She wiggled her ass so that my dick was positioned directly under her womanhood. She then tightened her thighs around my dick so that it wouldn't fall away before moving her ass back and forward, my dick grinding against her covered pussy. "Faster Josh. More!" I complied as I began to grunt slightly from the pleasure I was feeling from my dick sliding in and out of her wet thighs. I ripped open the bikini that covered her tits and began to strongly fondle them, my fingers pinching her nipples. Dawn's moans became louder and her breathing quite heavy.

She then turned around and quickly stripped out of her bottoms before pouncing on me. I instantly thrusted myself into her and we both moaned loudly from the feeling. We then began to move back and forward, quickly speeding up. If someone came in, they probably would of been mesmerized at the sight of Dawn and I having hot sex with the water from the shower flowing over our bodies.

"Yes Josh! Harder!" Dawn cried out and I didn't need to be told twice. I picked her up and she wrapped her arms and legs around me. I then pushed her against the back wall of the shower and picked up speed. We were both panting and crying out loudly from the intense pleasure we were feeling as my dick shot in and out of Dawn's pussy. And the hot water trickling over us just heightened that pleasure.

"I-I'm c-cumming!" she cried out.

"M-me too Benihime!" I answered before speeding up more. The pressure inside me increased until I could hold no longer. I jammed my cock hard into her and let loose a large torrent of my seed into Dawn as she orgasmed. I mashed my lips against hers and gave her as long a kiss as possible before we slumped to the floor, still connected. Her arms tightened around me and I responded by doing the same as we came down off our pleasure high.

**LEMON ENDED**

(Cue song Mystery Of The Seven Chakras by Maximus & Ensemble Ethnique)

"Well... I'm not stressed out anymore," I said, earning a giggle from Dawn. I smiled and hugged her closer. "I love you, Benihime," I whispered.

"There it is again. Why are you calling me that?" she asked.

"You don't like it?"

"No, I do. Just wondering."

"Well," I said as I pulled away a bit to look her in the eyes. "I just thought it was an appropriate pet name. Crimson Princess is definitely you."

"True," she replied, only to whimper in slight pleasure as I drew out of her. "I love you too, my Shirokishi."

"White Knight?" I asked.

"Yep. If I get a nice pet name, then you get one too," she replied. I just kissed her long and deep. When we separated I smiled. "How did I get so lucky with you?"

"You didn't. I'm with you for sex and your money," she replied with a cheeky grin.

"Oi!" I replied, but I also had a smile on my face. "By the way. How did you get by when you were among humans? Did you work?"

"A bit. Most of the time it was working in a whore house. Took care of two problems. My usual urges and a money problem," she replied as if what she did was the usual thing.

"A brothel? Didn't you get pregnant or something?" I asked, wondering if any kids of Dawn were going to turn up on my doorstep.

At this, her gaze turned afraid. "Umm… there's something I haven't told you," she said nervously.

"About what?" I asked.

"Well, when Ken-sama made all of us from the Juubi, he made us immortal mostly, but this had a price. We're all sterile," she said.

"Really? You're sterile?" I asked, shocked. She nodded sadly. "I guess you wanted your own kids at one point." A few tears fell from her eyes at this, though it was hard to tell as the shower was still on. I held onto her. "It's ok. Even though they won't be from you, you'll still be able to call my future kids as your own. I promise."

Dawn smiled brilliantly at me and we held onto each other for a few moments longer before I released her and looked into her crimson red irises. "Thank you," I said.

She cocked her head to the side. "For what?"

I then hugged her tightly once more. "For simply being mine," I whispered.

She responded by returning the hug. "Always," she whispered back.

* * *

(AN: Well here is the new chapter. I hope you enjoyed reading it. As usual, the soundtrack for this chapter is available for view through my Profile page. Just scroll to the Story OST section and copy/paste the correct link into the browser. Then search for the correct story/book/chapter. I will not be held responsible for what you do with the files.

A bit of news for my beloved and loyal readers. I've recently gotten around to purchasing and playing Star Wars: The Old Republic. I've been playing the game quite a lot. This means that I haven't gotten around to doing much writing. So my updates may be late. I will do my best to continue with my writing. On the other side, the story has given me ideas on writing a SWTOR fanfiction. Probably won't happen for a while as I want to do a bit more on the current Star Wars fanfic I'm on. But the details that I've permanently hammered out are that it will be a Jedi Knight/Sentinel story based on my current Star Wars fic OC's ancestor.

I'm only to level 16 so I've yet to see many companion characters. But if there aren't many good ones, I will be accepting outside OCs from you guys. But don't send them yet. Let me go a little further in the story before I make that decision.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank you guys for sticking with my stories. I know that they aren't the most popular stories. Hell, I consider the fact that I've gotten this many responses for all my stories as proof that I'm doing some things right. I know that all my characters tend to be mostly Mary Sue/Gary Sue, but I am trying to bring them down to earth a bit more. And I hope you stay with my stories in the future. I also hope that my stories bring in more readers and they talk about my stories with their friends. I hope you guys do to.

Wow, this is the most AN stuff I've written at the end of any chapter. Know that the poll on my profile about the new low-update story that I will publish next is currently a tie between two stories; Harry Potter and Final Fantasy IX. I will be taking it down very soon and will begin to upload the chapters I have already written on them straight after at my usual rate. If a tie continues, it will be decided with a coin toss. So this is your last chance for those who haven't done so to vote for which story you want to see first.

The vote will be coming down on the 30th of January, this year [obviously] so get to voting. As always, I hope to read more reviews in my mailbox, so talk to me guys.)


	22. Chapter 22: The Finals Part 1

**Chapter 22: The Finals (Part 1)**

The stadium was full of chattering and excited talking, all about one topic. The Chunin Exam fights. Mostly everyone was anticipating the fight between Sasuke Uchiha and Gaara, but there were more than a few people looking forward to watching another combatant.

In one corner of the arena sat Dawn, Trunks, Kiba, Kakashi, Izumo, Kotetsu, Genma, Tsume, Hana, Rex, Haku, Kin, Karin, Jugo and Suigetsu with his new sword, which he had named 'Ocean Soul'. Dawn was currently sporting a slightly different hairstyle and a completely new outfit. Her hair was straight with her fringe cut to cover her forehead. She also had two antenna locks of hair styled to stick up. The bottom of her long hair was bound up in a large and wide white ribbon bow. It looked exactly like Satella Harvenheit's hairstyle from Crono Crusade. With her black rimed sexy glasses she looked more beautiful and sexy than ever. In fact, I liked the hairstyle so much that I suggested she stay with it. I got a glomping hug in return.

The new style of dress was a white and azure lined cheongsam with a short skirt. A few azure Sakura petal prints were done on the skirt. A black corset was tied around her stomach and a thin lavender obi tied at the front was wrapped around that. A short azure blue jacket with bell sleeves was worn over the top. The slits up both sides went all the way up to her hips and she wore black thigh high tights. On her feet were white high heeled sandals, the type that Tsunade wore. The outfit was similar in design to Ran-Mao's outfit from Black Butler. I thought she looked super hot in those clothes. Apparently all the males and even some of the women that she passed on the way to the stadium with the other clan members and friends thought so as well.

They were currently idly chatting while covertly observing the set up around themselves. Thanks to my suggestion, Yùgao and the current ANBU Commander codenamed Dragon, ANBU remained hidden expertly around the stadium. However the bulk of the ANBU force was stationed around the village, ready to repel any invaders. The majority of the Jōnin force had been recalled as casually as possible to avoid tipping off the enemy.

Most of the planning done at each battle conference throughout the past month consisted with me suggesting ideas and planning, with the others either agreeing or fine tuning my initial ideas. I saw that they all were impressed with my prowess, but this was only because I knew of future events. I reminded them of this fact, but it did nothing to curb the steady rise of their respect for me. Even Hiruzen and Dragon became quite impressed with me.

Down below in the middle of the stadium floor were Hinata, Shikamaru, Neji, Shino, Gaara, Kankurō, Temari and Sasuke, who was on time as Kakashi had become a strictly non-late ninja, now that he no longer spent half the day at the memorial stone. That and he did most of his Sasuke training in Konoha.

At my instruction, he taught Sasuke the Chidori but none of the upgraded jutsu. When asked why, I replied that it was needed for Sasuke to survive. This decision I was really conflicted over. On the one hand Sasuke knowing the Chidori would become an annoyance in the future, but then my knowledge of the future would probably become almost obsolete as Sasuke knowing the jutsu is a major plot point in the story, and most probably in this world too. Besides, knowing what Sasuke would learn would enable me to make accurate countermeasures against him in the future. But there was no doubt that the whole situation was, as Shikamaru would put it, troublesome.

* * *

-] Third POV [-

The Third Hokage was sitting in his not-so-comfortable seat, watching the crowd, when he spotted the Kazekage walking over to his seat next to his own.

"Ohhh! Look who we have here! Kazekage-dono! Welcome," the old man smiled.

Down below, the three sand siblings tensed, but Gaara's face took on a murderous visage as he glared up at his father.

"You must be tired from your long trip," Sarutobi said.

"Not at all. I am glad the stage is in Konoha. Although I am still young, visiting another village will be a bit tough on you, Hokage-sama," the Kazekage replied. "Perhaps you should choose a Fifth soon."

Sarutobi laughed. "Maybe so. I have a few candidates to consider, but this will most likely be the last Chunin Exam I'll oversee before going for my retirement a second time." He then stood up and prepared to address the crowd. However before he could start, a large shadow fell over the stadium.

(Cue song Welcome to the Budokai Tenkaichi by Hiroshi Takaki from Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi Soundtrack)

The crowd looked up to see a large winged creature swoop in from the heavens and land next to the kids in the stadium.

It was a large dragon. Thought to only exist in legends and myths, this magnificent beast was a marvel. With dark blue wings edged with silver, silver claws and a black body with gold etchings around its scales. Strangely the Konoha guards weren't on guard, however they were in awe of the sight. And standing on the dragon's shoulder was...

* * *

-] First POV [-

I gazed down to see everyone's shocked faces. I grinned before jumping off Bahamut's shoulder and landing easily on the ground.

I was dressed in a new outfit for the finals. I wore an almost body-length white sleeveless Haori with crimson lining and the word 'Commander' written in azure kanji at the top and the original golden fox from my previous coat on the lower half. Underneath I wore a tight black tank top and black cargo pants. It was like a modern version of the Shinigami Capitan outfit from Bleach. I got the Haori, tank top and pants from Ken. They were made of a special material that made them not just as strong as steel plate armour, but were reverse temperature conditioned; warm in the cold and cool in the warm sun. I wore my usual boots. White Requiem was attached to my back in the usual way.

Bahamut bent his head down and allowed me to pat his head. **"Why is this necessary?"** he whispered to me, which was impressive given he was a giant dragon.

"Just amping it up for the crowd. They see how impressive I am, they'll give their business to Konoha in the future," I replied. "But thank you for helping me make my awesome entrance. Couldn't have done it better without you."

**"That's obvious,"** Bahamut replied before he smiled, showing his sharp teeth. **"Looking forward to letting loose later. Summon me when you are ready."** He then flew into the air and shot across the sky while leaving a contrail of spiralling blue energy behind him before disappearing in a flash of light. The materia fell from the sky and I caught it before pocketing it, but not before I caught a flash from inside the core of the crystal, indicating that I had unlocked the next Bahamut summon. I then drew White Requiem and flourished the blade.

"Naruto Uzumaki, theCool, Handsome and Badass Demonic Avatar of Awesomeness, is here!" I called out to everyone and posed at the end by resting the giant blade on my shoulder. All my friends immediately jumped to their feet and began cheering loudly, which quickly spread throughout the entire stadium.

I then stepped in line next to Hinata and grinned. "Hey Hinata! What did you think of my entrance?"

Hinata blushed, as usual, but managed to speak to me without stuttering that much. The past several training sessions with her had really helped her self-esteem a bunch.

"It was very i-impressive, but I thought Dragons were a myth. Everyone I know t-thinks so," Hinata replied.

"A myth huh?" I replied, more to myself than anything. "That's interesting. That means that my little entrance has made a much bigger impact than I thought." 'I hope this doesn't change the timeline as much,' I finished in my thoughts.

* * *

-] Third POV [-

The Hokage laughed again. "That Naruto, always showing off. Though the dragon summoning is quite impressive. I wonder where he learned how to do that?"

"He is very impressive. I thought Dragons were just a legend. Does he hold some sort of summoning contract for dragons?" asked the Kazekage with a suspicious amount of interest.

"I'm not sure," Sarutobi replied before he spoke to the crowd.

(Cue song ETERNAL WAYFARER by Junichi Nakatsuru from Soul Calibur III Original Soundtrack -LEGEND OF SOUNDS- Disc II)

"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for coming to the Hidden Village of Konoha's Chunin Selection Exam today! We will now begin the main matches with the nine that have passed the preliminaries! Please enjoy the matches!" The crowd replied with thunderous applause.

* * *

-] First POV [-

I smiled confidently as Hayate, looking much better than he had ever looked before, walked out and faced us. He still looked a little sickly, but the darkness around his eyes was completely gone. That, and his cough had disappeared. His voice also sounded a lot stronger.

"Morning everyone," he said cheerfully. "I'll be your proctor for today's matches. Although the stage is different, the same rules apply as in the preliminaries; there are no rules in the actual fights. The match will end when somebody dies or gives up. But if I deem the fight over, both combatants will stop and a winner will be declared. Failure to comply will result in an instant disqualification to the offender. Understand?" Everyone nodded.

"Excuse me Hayate?" I asked.

"Yes Naruto?"

"What do we win for owning the entire tournament? Besides a possible promotion?"

Hayate grinned. "Absolutely nothing."

"Well that's retarded!" I replied, annoyed that there wasn't an awesome prize at the end for hauling ass.

"Well then, the first match up is," here Hayate smiled. "Naruto Uzumaki vs Neji Hyuga. Everyone else, please wait in the participants box over there." Hayate pointed to a long rectangular opening in the wall of the stadium above a flight of stairs.

(Cue song Unreal Tournament Title (UT3 Remix) by Rom Di Prisco from Unreal Tournament 3 OST - Disk 1)

Everyone began to filter towards the stairs but Hinata held back. I turned to her. "What's up?" I asked. She hesitated before flinging her arms round me. "Stay safe Naruto-kun," she whispered before leaving with the rest. I grinned. 'Seems our time training together has helped her more than I thought.' I then turned and looked at Neji.

"You look like you want to say something," Neji said in that sick superior tone I hated.

"Just one thing," I replied before doing a Grimmjow grin and flaring my Ki softly so the blue energy wafted around my body like a blue flame. "You should be very afraid right now."

"Why?" asked Neji, a little unnerved by the display in front of him.

"I'm smiling. That alone should scare you," I continued to grin.

Neji just smiled superiorly. "I know all about you Naruto. The dropout. Let me tell you something. A dropout is a dropout. They can't change. And neither will you. Fate has decided that you will lose to me today."

I stopped grinning. "Don't be so fucking arrogant that you think you know what fate has in store for us. There is only one fate for us all. And that is death. What we do before then is our own business and no-one else's. Least of all fate's or destiny's." I then removed White Requiem and slammed it into the ground next to me. "To prove this, I will win without using my sword."

"Foolishness. You just decreased your chances of winning," Neji replied with a bemused smile.

"So now you're saying I have a chance to win?" I taunted.

Neji's eyes hardened into the Byakugan. "You have no chance at all!" he stated.

"Then prove it!" I called out.

"First match, begin!" called out Hayate before jumping back to give us some space.

(Cue song Last Hunter by Naoshi Mizuta from Final Fantasy XIII-2 Original Soundtrack)

I looked, unflinchingly, into his Byakugan. I saw him slide into a stance and we just stood there. Every few moments he would adjust his stance slightly. I then thrusted my hand out at Neji and called out, "It's Time to Dual!" before grinning and speeding through a few handsigns. "Yakeruton: Neutron Fireball!" I called out before putting my right thumb and pointer fingers together and blew out a large ball of azure fire which blasted straight at Neji.

Neji's eyes widened before he spun in a circle and used the Kaiten technique. The blue flames impacted the chakra dome and exploded outwards, throwing up a large cloud of dust. I waited patiently for the dust to settle to see Neji smoking slightly, but otherwise unharmed. However he was panting slightly.

"I commend you for defending against my Yakeruton jutsu and coming out relatively unharmed. But it seems that you had to expel a lot more chakra to use in the Kaiten to protect yourself from being overwhelmed," I said before I ran toward him and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with him. Since he was still recovering from the large chakra drain on his coils, his Jyuuken speed was lowered, making it easy to dodge each chakra coated strike and deliver my own punches. But his eyes were able to catch the subtle movements I made before launching each strike and dodge them all.

We sprang apart where I looked at Neji. He still was panting slightly, but it seemed he had almost recovered from using the Kaiten. I then beckoned with my right hand. He didn't move.

"Aren't you going to try and do fate's will?" I asked.

"You have no chance of winning," he replied in the same arrogant attitude.

"Well you're not doing a very good job at proving this claim," I said, folding my arms and cocking my head to the side. "You should know that there is always someone stronger than you!" I then placed my hands into the cross seal and said, "Neo Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Several youki fuelled clones phased into existence without the tell-tale pop and smoke.

"What now?" we all asked in perfect unison before charging at him. In return he jumped into the air, hoping to escape and have all the clones collide with each other. But he was completely read as I instantly jumped behind him and delivered a kick to the chest, but he twisted out of the way just in time. I followed up with a punch, but that was dodged as well. We landed and I grinned.

"Very impressive Neji. You certainly have surpassed most in the Hyuga Clan. But Hinata is faster than this," I taunted again. This got a reaction and Neji frowned. "Your talent is determined when you're born. In other words, everything is predetermined at birth." He would have continued, but I gave a loud yawn. "Whatever. Just tell me why you hate Hinata so much. I saw the look you gave her when she performed the **8 Trigrams 64 Guardian Palms** jutsu. Like she was insulting your honor or something."

"That has nothing to do with you," Neji replied.

"I disagree. She is a close friend, and therefore it involves me," I countered.

"Very well, I will tell you since you seem to care so much; about the Hyuga's fate of hatred!" said Neji.

*Cue Neji's sob story*

"And that's why, in this match, your fate was decided when I became your opponent!" Neji finished off dramatically.

"..." was all I said before sighing. "Ok, see now, what I just heard? Blah blah blah, blah blah blah blah, blah blah."

Neji glared at me with such hatred I thought he was going to shoot Death Star laser beams from his eyes. "What did you say?"

(Cue song You Shall Overcome by Kajiura Yuki from Tsubasa Chronicle Original Soundtrack - Future Soundscape IV)

"You think that you're the only one in the world who's experienced the pain of loss? You think you're somehow different from everyone else? Get over yourself Neji. You're using the concept of fate to cover up the fact that you've given up. But you need to keep fighting. Otherwise, why be here at all? Why bother? Let me tell you a little something. Hinata might not know how your pain feels like, but she cares about you. She doesn't want you to give up. And it's her wish to change the laws of the Hyuga and to either abolish the seal altogether, or improve on it so there can be no manual activation for the Hyuga elders to get their twisted kicks and have everyone stamped with the seal so the Byakugan can be protected without the need for the Branch Family. That would mean that the two families would become one in the same, not separate." I felt a large amount of killing intent directed at me, and I knew that the Hyuga Elders were pissed at me for saying these things. 'Well they can go fuck themselves!' I thought.

Neji, however, was shocked. "Why are you telling me this?" he asked.

"Why? Because your father wouldn't want you to wallow in self-pity and sorrow over him. He would want you to live your life, looking to the future with a steady vision and not be weighed down with the past as an anchor," I replied.

"How do you know what my father would have wanted? What do you know!" yelled Neji angrily.

"Beat me and find out!" I yelled right back.

(Cue song Aftermath by Hiroshi Takaki from Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi Soundtrack)

Neji then grinned, but this one was without the usual arrogant sneer. "Very well!" he shouted before charging at me.

"That's the way Neji! Break free of the cage the Hyuga Elders have forced you into and fly!" I shouted before charging him with a grin on my face. We met and began to weave around each other's blows and strikes. "That's it Neji! Soar into the sky!" I said as I pushed Neji's Jyuuken strike away from me. He was pushing himself hard and I found it increasingly hard to dodge his attacks. Eventually I was pushed to use Ki Stepping to dodge his strikes.

After about 5 more minutes of this we sprang apart, however Neji was panting hard now. The final push had not paid off and now he was on the verge of chakra exhaustion. However I was still raring to go.

"One last strike?" I asked.

"Very well," Neji panted.

I grinned before I streamed a small amount of youki into my right hand. I then put my left hand into the pocket that housed the Time Materia and activated Haste. We ran at each other, Neji's hands wreathed in blue chakra, ready to Jyuuken my ass. But I easily weaved around his strike and planted my palm onto Neji's forehead and injected the gathered youki into his Caged Bird seal. I felt the seal instantly overload and shatter under my hand. I sprang away from him as Neji collapsed onto his back.

"Proctor! I forfeit!" Neji gasped out between pants. "I cannot go on."

(Cue song Dragons Gate by Hiroshi Takaki from Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi Soundtrack)

Hayate nodded before calling out. "Neji Hyuga has withdrawn! Naruto Uzumaki is the winner of Round 1!" The crowd cheered loudly.

I began waving to the crowd as I crossed over to my sword and pulled it from the ground. I did a Cloud by spinning the giant blade quickly over my head before placing it back on my back. I then walked over to Neji and held out my hand to him. He hesitated for a moment before grasping it. I pulled him to his feet and then shook his hand. "Great match Neji. Now, I have something to show you," I said before we entered the stairway. When we got to the top I chose a secluded corner with no-one watching before I turned to Neji.

(Cue song Kimi wo Mamoru... by Kajiura Yuki from Erementar Gerad React OST 2)

"What is it?" he asked. I pulled out my iPhone, turned it on and selected a video file. I beckoned him over and showed him the screen. "What I'm about to show you is not a genjutsu, but a real recording." I then pressed play and heard Neji gasp as Hizashi's face displayed on the screen.

"Father!" he cried out.

_"Neji, my son. There was so much I wanted to teach you before I died. However shit happens, and now I can't be there for you like I want to because, you know, being dead and all. I just want you to live life with no regrets, or as little as possible. Know that life is what you make of it, and isn't dictated by things like fate and destiny. And know that I'll always love you my son. Don't hate the Main Family for what happened. Initially it was my brother, Hiashi, who was to die and be delivered to Kumo, but I volunteered to replace my brother. I did this, not just for the future of the Leaf Village, but to save my brother and to be able to choose my own fate at the time. However I regret showing you my bitterness to the Hyuga and being locked into a fate I couldn't escape until that day. I hope you can forgive me and my brother."_ The recording stopped there. By this time, Neji was in tears. I then left him alone to think things over.

* * *

(Cue song Two Hornpipes (Tortuga) by Hans Zimmer from Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest OST)

**Omake 1:**

"You look like you want to say something," Neji said in that sick superior tone I hated.

"Just one thing," I replied before doing a Grimmjow grin and flaring my Ki softly so the blue energy wafted around my body like a blue flame.

"Pancakes,"

"What?" asked Neji, a little off balance from the random comment.

"Pancakes taste good for breakfast," I continued to grin.

* * *

**Omake 2:**

"You look like you want to say something," Neji said in that sick superior tone I hated.

"Just one thing," I replied.

"You're a fucking asshole and no-one loves you!"

Complete silence.

*sniff, sniff* "You didn't have to be so mean!" Neji wailed out, tears gushing from his eyes.

"Uhh," I sweatdropped.

"Jeez Naruto," Hayate sighed in disappointment. "Naruto is disqualified, for being a douchebag."

"...huh?"

* * *

**Omake 3:**

"You look like you want to say something," Neji said in that sick superior tone I hated.

"Just one thing," I replied before doing a Grimmjow grin and flaring my Ki softly so the blue energy wafted around my body like a blue flame.

"Make my day."

* * *

**Omake 4: **

"You look like you want to say something," Neji said in that sick superior tone I hated.

"Just one thing," I replied before doing a single handsign and henge'ing into Gaara. I then pulled off my gourd and held it out before singing out...

"I've got a jar of dirt! I've got a jar of dirt! I've got a jar of dirt! And guess what's inside it!"

* * *

**Omake 5:**

"You look like you want to say something," Neji said in that sick superior tone I hated.

"Just one thing," I replied before…

(Cue song Mirai no Bokura e ~TV size~ by Fujisawa Norimasa)

"Oh my god! Episode 6 of New Prince of Tennis is on. Be right back!" I called out in excitement before shunshining out of the stadium.

-[23 Minutes Later]-

I Shunshin back into the stadium grinning. "Ha haa… Momo was sleeping on Kaidoh… Now where were we?"

* * *

**Omake 6:**

"You look like you want to say something," Neji said in that sick superior tone I hated.

"Just one thing," I replied before the entire stadium and sky darkened as if an eclipse was taking place. Then several spotlights began waving around wildly before centring in on one spot, highlighting a group of beautiful and curvatious girls wearing scanty cheerleader outfits of white and azure blue. And the lead cheerleader was Dawn.

"Caramelldansen!" I cheered out.

(Cue song Caramelldansen (Speedycake Mix) by Caramell)

* * *

(AN: That's this chapter done. As usual, the soundtrack for this chapter is online at the usual link under Chapter 22 for you to listen if you do not have the music. Review and let me know what you thought of my Omakes)


	23. Chapter 23: The Finals Part 2

**Chapter 23: The Finals (Part 2)**

(Cue song Take Ten by Paul Desmond)

"Hey Hinata! What'd you think of my Yakeruton jutsu?" I asked as I bounced into the participant's box and wrapped my arm familiarly around her shoulders. She stiffened up, but she didn't faint, which was good.

"T-that was a-amazing, Naruto-kun. I've never seen b-blue fire before," she replied in her usual soft voice.

"Yakeruton is a very precise mix of fire and wind elemental manipulation. Took me 25 days, most of that time in the Training Room, and 2000 clones to get the hang of it," I replied.

"T-two thousand?" she gasped.

"Yeah. Didn't I tell you I can make that many?" I asked. Judging by the look of her face, I hadn't. "Huh. I thought I had. Well, now you know," I grinned. While doing so I took a discreet look around. Sasuke was, predictably, straight up pissed at how much stronger I was over him. Shino was still Shino, but it seemed he was a little surprised since his eyebrows had poked out from under his glasses. Shikamaru was definitely surprised. Temari was as well. Kankuro looked quite skeptical at this claim and Garra was the only one who didn't show any surprise. Or any emotion at all.

At that moment Neji walked into the box. I flashed him a grin and, to my utter surprise, he nodded at me with a small, but grateful, smile on his face.

"Hey Neji!" I called, beckoning him over to us. He hesitated before walking over. "Do you have a bit of a headache?"

He blinked before nodding. "Yes, I do. How did you know?"

"I'll tell you later," I replied, making sure to grin mysteriously. Both Neji and Hinata looked curious, but didn't press the issue.

"For the next fight, will Sabaku Kankuro and Aburame Shino come down to the arena floor please?" called Hayate.

"I forfeit!" Kankuro called, just like I knew he would. As he said these words, a loud and angry buzzing came from the crowd since they were looking for a good fight like mine. I was positive that some of the buzzing I was hearing also came from Shino, even though he looked the same.

"I guess being Chunin isn't high on your priorities then," I said to the pajama wearing puppet user. He gave me a sideways look, clearly suspicious of what I had said, but soon turned away.

"Uhhh, very well. Kankuro forfeits and the winner by default is Shino," Hayate announced. "So instead…" However Hayate wasn't given a chance to finish as Temari removed her fan, unfurled it and gave it a big swing, filling the competitor's box with a strong wind. She then hopped on her fan and rode the wind out of the box and onto the arena floor where she smirked confidently at the proctor.

"Looks like you want to fight," Hayate noted. "Ok then. Let's start the next match. Nara Shikamaru, get over here now!"

"Wait a minute, why are you guys getting all excited for?" Shikamaru muttered from next to me.

"Hey now! No backing out! Be a man and figure out a plan to beat her. You can sleep later," I said.

"Maybe I should give up," he muttered to himself in what he thought was quiet enough to not be heard by me, but thanks to my foxy attributes, I heard exactly what he said.

"No way is that happening!" I said before shoving him over the railing. I waved smugly as he crashed into the ground, still looking up at me.

"Nice landing jackass!" I taunted him. He just twitched his eye at me. We continued to look at each other before I cracked.

"Damnit Shika! If you don't at least fight her, I'll tell your mom that you backed out like a little pussy!" This got a reaction out of him as he instantly stood up, yelling, "OK! OK!"

"Knew that would get a reaction outta him. If you ever want to motivate either Shikamaru or Shikaku, you threaten to tell Yoshino," I nodded with satisfaction.

"Who are Yoshino and Shikaku?" Hinata asked.

"Shikamaru's mom and dad. Both males are terrified of her as she's quite the hardass," I explained.

"Well, if you won't attack, then I will!" Temari yelled angrily before speeding towards the lazy Nara, ignoring Hayate's calls that he hadn't started the match. She jumped and came down with her closed fan, intent on crushing the boy, who had pulled out two kunai. A cloud of dust was thrown up, covering the immediate area for a few seconds. What was seen was Temari with her fan digging into the ground. Shikamaru, however, had quickly shoved the two kunai into the stadium wall and was currently standing on the parts sticking out, with a small confident smile on his face.

"I don't care about becoming Chunin. But a man can't lose to a woman," Shikamaru said. "I guess I'll fight."

From there, the battle went by almost exactly like in the anime, with Shikamaru giving up after managing to connect his shadow with Temari thanks to the enlarged shadow of the stadium wall. Without the hole and tunnel that Naruto had made in his match against Neji in this reality, the match could only progress so far.

"Should'a made a hole," I muttered to myself. "Oh well. I'm sure he'll still make Chunin."

"Why's that, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked.

"Cause Shikamaru's strategic mind was shown off in this match. The skill to plan several moves ahead of the opponent while thinking up contingency plans, escape routes and safety measures is one of the main qualities needed in a Chunin. He's demonstrated that in this match. He'll go forward, I guarantee it," I said.

"What about you?" she asked worriedly.

"Me? I dunno. I guess we'll see," I said before I vaulted over the railing and ran over to him.

"Good match," I said, smiling at him.

"To be honest, I don't know how much longer I would've lasted," Shikamaru replied, hitting his shoulder lightly. "I planned 200 moves against her, but I would have run out of chakra before I would have a chance to use them."

"Well, I have a feeling that you'll make Chunin regardless," I said.

"Really?" he whined.

"Geez, man up Shika," I said, though unlike last time I said that, this time I smiled. "C'mon now. The next match is gonna start soon. Besides, you lost the match, but won the fight. If you were leading a squad, they would have killed or captured Temari. Plus you were calm throughout the entire match. I think you have more of a chance becoming Chunin than me."

"Why are you always so troublesome?" Shikamaru asked.

"Why are you always so lazy?" I countered. Shikamaru shut up at that point.

We walked into the stadium wall that had the stairs leading up to the contestant's box, but instead I grabbed the protesting Nara's arm and dragged him towards the medical bay that, so far, was unused. There were two medic nins in there, chatting away about something.

"Excuse me, but we need to speak privately. Can you vacate the room for 10 or so minutes?" I asked nicely.

"I don't know who you think you are," one of the medic nin's said. "But you can't just barge in and order us-"

"Now," I growled out demonically, flaring my Ki energy and using the eye glow. They immediately shot out of the room.

"What the hell, Naruto? What's going on?" the lazy boy asked.

"In a minute Shikamaru," I replied as I placed my hand on the wall and pushed lightning elemental chakra into the wall. The electric energy spread out over the walls, celling and floor. There was one pop noise before a smell of burnt plastic filled the room.

"Just the one, eh?" I mumbled before taking out a slip of paper and placing it on the door before activating the seal on said paper. A thin wave of chakra pulsed out as the seal grew to encompass the whole room in chain like writing and lines within a second, before disappearing.

"Ok. All done," I smiled before turning to Shikamaru, who looked more than a little freaked out.

"Is this where you kill me?" he asked in apprehension.

"What? No! Of course not," I replied.

"Then what are you doing? Why so serious all of a sudden? It's not like you," he asked.

(Cue song Senritsu B by Taniuchi Hideki from DEATH NOTE Original Soundtrack II)

"Well, I actually need your help with something," I said before opening my ninja pouch and flicked him a soldier pill. He caught it and eyed is suspiciously.

"A soldier pill? Does this have anything to do with the ANBU guards stationed around the stadium stands?" he asked.

"Always so sharp," I grinned. I then walked up to him and placed my hand on his shoulder. "Let's see how fast you can work this out?" I then gave him permission to see my real form before stepping back to watch the fun.

At first his eyes widened considerably as he eyed my ears and tail. Then, after a few seconds, his face took on a speculative look. After about a minute, he spoke up.

"This has something to do with the Kyuubi, right?" he asked.

I smiled. "My transformation? Yes. However, that is not why I brought you here. As I said before, I need your help with something. I need you to use your Kagemane jutsu on the two Suna Shinobi currently in the box on my signal. You will need to be ready for it, which is why I gave you the soldier pill."

Shikamaru's eyes widened again. "Isn't Suna allied with us?" he asked.

"Shika, I need you to trust me on this. I will explain everything afterwards. Most likely tomorrow. But for now, can you do this for me?"

He paused before a look of realization crossed his face. "Suna's planning a coup, right?"

I sighed. "It's not just Suna, but Oto as well. Oto is the instigator and Suna is with them, for now."

"For now?" he asked.

"Like I said, I will tell you tomorrow. The Hokage and I have known about this coup for the past month, and have prepared to take them on as soon as their signal is given out, which is Gaara. His siblings will definitely act when the time is right for them. You hold them still while I'll knock them out with an attachable seal that will keep them unconscious for the next 24 hours. This is all that you need to help me with. Afterwards, you can either help the others, or stay out of the fighting all together. I don't mind," I explained.

There was a roar from the crowd outside, signaling that the fight between Gaara and Sasuke had begun.

"Sounds like its starting," I said before looking Shikamaru in the eye, deadly serious. "So will you help me?"

The Nara was silent for a minute before he swallowed the pill. "It's troublesome to be sure, but I'll help you. You're definitely not the same goofy guy from before. That makes me curious, which is also troublesome."

"Thank you," I said before walking over to the door and removing the seal. The seal chains over the room flashed once before they shattered like glass. I opened the door. "Let's go."

When Shikamaru and I returned to the participants box, Gaara was already within his Shield of Sand, with Sasuke up at the top of the stadium wall, concentrating. I placed my hand on his shoulder, mentally telling him to be ready.

* * *

(Cue song Small Beginnings by Greg Edmonson from Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Original Soundtrack)

-] Third POV [-

Two miles from the wall on the southwestern side of the village, a summoning circle was being prepared. A squad of Oto nins watched as nine Suna nins readied the circle. The Suna squad leader was finishing up writing in a scroll.

"How are things?" the Oto squad leader asked.

"Everything is going as scheduled," the Suna squad leader replied smartly.

"Please hurry with the summoning ritual. We would like to be able to move out at any time," said the Oto nin.

"I understand!"

"Well, I'll leave things here to you then," the Oto squad leader said before he and the rest of his squad left the area. None of the Oto ninjas, nor the Suna nins realized that they were being watched.

"Ok, the Oto nins have left," Yùgao said softly into her headset. "There are nine nins down there. Pick your targets and go!"

It only took several seconds for the ANBU team of 4 to knock them all out. As soon as they were finished, they injected a sleeping agent into them that would keep them asleep for the next 24 hours.

"Neko-buchou, why is it that we're only knocking them out instead of killing them?" one of the ANBU asked Yùgao. He was dressed in the usual ANBU outfit with a strange bug like mask.

"Grasshopper, those are our orders passed down from our Hokage," Yùgao replied. "You're still new at this so I'll cut you some slack."

Grasshopper nodded, still unsure as to why the Hokage would want to keep these Suna nins alive.

"Ok, now get to work breaking down this summoning circle and make sure you don't accidentally activate it," Yùgao ordered.

"Hai Buchou!" the ANBU chorused before they got to work.

* * *

(Music Silence)

-] First POV [-

Sasuke began to charge up his Chidori, lightning sparks jumping around his hand. He then drew his hand to his side and dashed down the face of the wall, dragging his hand along the wall and creating a deep trench in a dramatic fashion.

"What a showoff! But I guess we're all like that when we use a brand new jutsu," I said to Shikamaru as I remembered using my own Yakeruton jutsu.

Sasuke reached the bottom, sped over to Gaara's sand shield, dodged the sudden spikes that lunged out of the sand and drove the Chidori into the shield. There was dead silence for about a minute before a loud scream emanated from the sand sphere.

"Blood! My blood!"

Sasuke struggled to pull his hand out, resulting in a second Chidori to release his arm from the sand. However he also pulled out a large clawed appendage as well. As soon as Sasuke was out of the arm's reach, I squeezed Shikamaru's shoulder. He looked at me and I nodded. The lazy boy sighed before flipping through several handsigns. "Kagemane no jutsu," he whispered before his shadow flew out and latched onto the Suna Shinobi. The two instantly went stiff. I acted immediately by pulling out two seals written on small pieces of paper and smacking them onto their foreheads. Their looks of surprise instantly gave way to drowsiness as their bodies slackened. I nodded to Shikamaru and he released the jutsu. Temari and Kankurō slumped to the ground, already in a deep sleep.

"W-what happened?" Hinata asked as I laid them out straight.

"I just knocked them out with the help of Shikamaru," I said as I stood up.

"But why?" Neji asked.

"I'll tell you, Hinata and Shikamaru the details tomorrow. I promise. But for the moment I need you and Hinata to trust me as Shikamaru does," I said. The two Hyuga looked at Shikamaru, who sighed before nodding at them.

"Very well then Naruto. I will trust you," Neji said.

"I-I will as w-well," Hinata added.

"Thank you," I said before holding out a soldier pill to Neji. "You need to have this."

Neji hesitated before nodding and taking the pill. "I'm guessing something big is about to happen?" he asked as he swallowed it.

"Indeed. I need you to be prepared to report to either Gai or Kakashi in a few minutes," I said. Neji's eyes widened slightly, but he nodded, indicating he got the message.

Down below Sasuke was hit with an intense and focused shot of KI which rooted Sasuke to the ground in fear. Then the sand shield began to crack and dissolve, showing a wounded Gaara panting and holding his injured shoulder.

It was at this point that my vision was covered in falling white feathers. I instantly felt the drowsiness take hold of me and I formed a ram seal.

"Kai!" I said softly, but strongly, and the feathers were pushed away from me. Instantly the drowsiness left me. I looked around to see that everyone besides the two Suna nin had done the same. At that point a smoke bomb was let loose in the Kage box.

(Cue song Saber's Edge - Arrange by Masashi Hamauzu from DISSIDIA 012 [duodecim] FINAL FANTASY Original Soundtrack)

"Ok! Now!" I yelled out before I shot out of the box and landed next to Gaara. He was so drained that his sand which usually blocked any attempt to touch him hardly moved at all.

"Who are…" Gaara began to say but I swiftly knocked him out.

"I gotta move fast before Shukaku takes over," I muttered as I pushed a small amount of youki into my finger, growing a long curved claw. I then used the claw to cut open his clothes at the front and pushed it aside. Instantly I saw the seal on his stomach and saw at how crap a job the sealing was. "Probably why Shukaku was so insane is because this seal is twisting the guardian inside."

I then felt Baki land next to Hayate and begin to charge toward me, only to be stopped by two swords, one across his throat and one aimed at his heart, held by Dawn and Trunks.

"Nice save you guys!" I called out before I streamed chakra into my hand. "Five Element Seal!" I called out before slamming my hand onto the seal. The new seal instantly surrounded the original seal.

"That should help Gaara sleep for the moment," I said before I turned to Baki. "You have been deceived by Orochimaru Baki," I said to him. His eyes widened at the fact that I had knowledge of that alliance.

"How did you know?" he asked.

"That doesn't matter. But know that we've known about your coup for the past month and have prepared a counter attack. You now have a choice. You can continue to fight and be defeated completely, or you can tell your forces to stand down and you yourself watch over the sand siblings while we repel Oto. Gaara is safe, he won't be transforming into Shukaku; I promise you. If you stand down, know that Suna will not be held accountable for this failed invasion, and we'll continue to remain allies," I offered.

"But our Kazekage…" Baki began.

"Is not who you think he is. Your Kazekage has been dead for quite some time, replaced by Orochimaru for the purpose of easily infiltrating this village and manipulating yours. If you do not believe me, then I offer you to watch us battle him atop that roof until he reveals himself," here I pointed to the still smoke enshrouded rooftop.

Baki hesitated for a moment before he reluctantly nodded. I smiled. "Good. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to summon in some reinforcements." I then stood up, walked a few meters away before flipping through some seals and firing a small blue fireball into the sky, where it exploded. Instantly there was a large rush of wind before a force of 30 kitsunes stood in front of me. They were all in their hanyou form and all were at six tails. They wore futuristic and streamlined silver armor that glinted in the sun. And in the front was an eight tailed kitsune, also in his hanyou form. He had slate grey eyes and long black hair, which was kept up in intricate white headpieces, one on top of his head and another on the right side. Instead of armour like the others, he wore a white shitagi, a black kosode, a black hakama, a white hakama_-_himo, white tabi, and waraji along with a white scarf wrapped around his neck. Over the black Hakama he wore a white haori with the words '6th Division' on the back in black kanji. The kitsune looked at me before he nodded at me.

"Commander. I, Lord Kuchiki Byakuya, the 6th Nova General, and my squad, are ready for battle."

* * *

(AN: I'm sorry, but I can't seem to upload the four songs used onto the site I usually put them on. I'll keep trying for a few days but if it doesn't work then you'll just have to listen to them from another source. Again, sorry. Review up and tell me what you think of having Byakuga as a Nova General. More on what they are in the next chapter.)


	24. Chapter 24: The Trap is Sprung

**Chapter 24: The Trap is Sprung**

(Cue song Saber's Edge - Arrange by Masashi Hamauzu from DISSIDIA 012 [duodecim] FINAL FANTASY Original Soundtrack)

I smiled as I saw Byakuya standing there with his top troops behind him. I caught the sight of red and I focused to see Renji, the fox I entrusted the Wolf summoning contract to. He was standing next to Byakuya, signaling that he was most likely a Lieutenant to the General.

"Hey Renji! Looking after the contract I gave you?" I asked.

"Yes, sir!" he replied with a grin of his own.

"Good." I returned my gaze to Byakuga. "Well General, are the troops in position?" I asked.

"They are Commander, they await your command to begin the counterattack," he replied in a monotone.

"Be sure to relay to your men that any Suna Shinobi that attacks them is to be subdued and then be transferred to the prepared area where we'll be holding them until the end of the fight," I ordered, trying to sound like a leader. It was hard with so many powerful forces under my command and I was barely stronger than a one-tailed fox.

"Yes, sir," the Nova General replied.

"Very well. Commence the counterattack," I said as I swept my hand out.

"Yes, Commander sir!" the force cried out before they dispersed from the stadium.

I then turned my gaze to the spot where Sarutobi and Orochimaru were about to begin fighting. Fortunately the barrier hadn't been erected yet.

"Let's go guys!" I called out and Dawn, Trunks and I bounded up the stadium wall towards the roof of the Kage's box. We made it in time, and not a second too late as the barrier the Sound Four created went up just as we landed next to Sarutobi.

"What's this Sensei? You bring in children to fight alongside you?" Orochimaru asked.

"Sure, keep underestimating us. It's not like there'll be any repercussions for doing so," I replied sarcastically.

"I remember you. You were very smart to figure out my plan to infiltrate your team in the Forest of Death, but you were shaking in your boots," he said, smirking in that ultra-creepy way of his.

"Oh, blow it out of your ass, Orochi-wanker," I growled.

"Orochi-wa-… You'd best learn to respect your betters, Naruto-kun," the Snake Sanin hissed at me.

"Betters? All I see is a washed up old man ninja who's too shit scared of his own death," I countered. "So bring it on gayface, I ain't scared of you."

Both Orochimaru and Sarutobi were wide eyed at the balls I had to insult Orochimaru to his face like that. Then Orochimaru smirked evilly. "But you should be afraid." He then flipped through several seals and called out, "Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei!" A portal opened up in the ground/roof and out popped three coffin shaped boxes. Each one was labeled with a number. There was Ichi (One), Nii (Two), and Yon (Four). "Yesssss, you should be very afraid!"

* * *

-] Third POV – With Hinata [-

Hinata took down her third Sound ninja in the stands and looked worriedly up at the Hokage box roof that was walled off by a purple barrier.

'Naruto-kun, Dawn-san and Trunks-san entered that thing 5 minutes ago. I hope they're all ok,' she thought in worry.

"Ohooo! What do we have here?" a male voice asked. Hinata turned around to see three people standing in front of her. They wore while clothing and had Kumo headbands. Hinata instantly froze as memories of that night flooded her mind.

"I think we've got ourselves a little cutie Hyuga," the first one sneered.

"Imagine if we were able to capture her and take her back to Raikage-sama," the second one grinned with greed.

"We would be showered with riches for retrieving Konoha's famous Byakugan!" the third replied. He then, blinded by greed, lunged forward toward the Hyuga princess. Hinata noticed it just in time and she ripped herself out from her fears and jyuuken'ed the man, dropping him to the ground.

"Tekeshi!" the first one cried out.

"You're gonna pay for that!" the second one growled out before he put on a burst of speed and got behind her. He hooked his arms under her armpits and pried her own arms back and up into the air, where they hung uselessly. Now Hinata was effectively disarmed from using the Jyuuken. Unfortunately this resulted in something else happening. Her arms were forced back, which curved her back, and also thrust out her chest, where the material of the hoodie was stretched over her breasts. And the first Kumo nin saw this.

"Huh?" he muttered to himself as he walked forward and took hold of the zip. He whipped it down and parted the flaps of her jumper to expose that Hinata wore a mesh shirt underneath. But the mesh shirt was much tighter than her hoodie and molded very well around her defining and well shaped C-cup breasts.

"Damn! This kid's stacked! How old is she? 16? 17?" the first one asked. A perverted grin began to quickly form on his face and his hands inched towards Hinata's plump breasts.

The sexual assaulter slumped to the ground as a brown haired, 5 tailed kitsune decked out in futuristic armor stood over him, having rapped the man hard on the back of his head with the pommel of his western styled broadsword.

"Brian!" the second one gasped before he too collapsed as the brown haired kitsune had moved behind him in a flash and had knocked him out the same way as his first target had.

Hinata stared at the unconscious men around her in surprise. "Hinata Hyuga?" Hinata started and looked up to see the fox had spoken to her.

"Y-yes?" she asked.

"I was ordered by Commander Josh Kitsuné to be your bodyguard for today," the kitsune clapped his armored fist to his chest plate and bowed. "I assume you want to help with the counterattack?"

"U-uhh," Hinata mumbled, unsure of what to say, before the words from before sunk in. "Commander Josh Kitsuné? Who is that?"

"The Commander is fighting alongside ex-Commander, Dawn Kyuubi and the son of the 4th Nova General, Trunks Grememora," the kitsune supplied.

"Dawn and Trunks? But they're with…" Hinata trailed off as she gazed back at the barrier.

'Naruto-kun… what's going on?'

* * *

-] First POV [-

(Cue song Kaze, Appears by Shirou Hamaguchi from Final Fantasy: Unlimited OST)

The coffin lids opened to show people inside them. The Shodaime Hokage, the Nidaime Hokage and the most recent addition to the elite ranks, the Yondaime Hokage.

"So not you see that you have no chance to win. Konoha will burn today!" Orochimaru cackled.

"N-Naruto? Is that you?" Minato blinked and raised a shaky finger at me.

"Huh? How come the Yondaime Hokage knows my name," I replied in a confused manner, making sure to tilt my head to the side slightly.

"Wha…" the blonde man, at least he was supposed to be blonde, said. Being brought back from the dead had left his hair pale and no longer looking like rays of sunshine. He certainly looked very different from when the video call conference was held a month ago. The Hokage brothers didn't look that much better either. They all looked like they were going to collapse into dust if someone blew on them. The fourth then turned to Sarutobi. "You didn't tell him?" he asked with a slight hint of betrayal in his tone.

"Hmm?" Orochimaru blinked, looking between the two of us.

"I wanted to wait until he made Chunin," Sarutobi replied.

He sighed. "Well I guess that might have been for the best before. But I want to say it." He then turned back to me. "Naruto… I'm your dad."

I swear for this next segment, I should have gotten a fucking award for this. I slowly widened my eyes in shock before I began to walk slowly to Minato. In response he did too, with a warm smile on his face. When we were half a meter apart we stopped. "Y-you're my… my…" I fake tried to say, putting a tremble in my voice.

"That's right. I'm your father," he nodded.

"You…" I paused for dramatic fashion before I slammed my fist into his stomach. "YOU BASTARD!"

"Oho! This is getting juicy!" I heard Orochimaru say.

"You Asshole! Why did you place so much faith in a bunch of stupid, superstitious, fuckin moronic shitheads you call villagers? Huh!?" I growled at the wheezing ex-Hokage. I then glared at Orochimaru. "Can you give us a moment? I want to have a… _chat_ with my dear old dad."

"Well this certainly is an interesting development. Very well. You have 10 minutes," Orochimaru smirked, as if reveling in my fake rage and mental agony.

"Thanks," I replied shortly before I dragged the older man by his coat's collar and walked away until I was sure we weren't going to be easily overheard. I then released him.

(Cue music silence)

"Sorry for the punch Minato," I apologized.

"S'okay. You've got yourself a good punch there. I didn't expect you to hit so hard," he replied.

"Needed to make it convincing. Besides, your son did it in the series when you talked to him after rescuing him from going full Ninetails in his battle with Akatsuki," I grinned.

"He does? I mean, he did?" he asked.

"Yeah, but he understood that you did what you had to do to protect Konoha not only from the present threat of Dawn, but also from the future threats of Tobi/Madara. Still have no idea who that masked fucker is. But he's Uchiha so that's good enough for now," I ranted.

"So, you think he bought your little act?" he asked.

"Hell yeah. That dude runs on the pain and misery of others. So try and look ashamed as hell when we go back. Need to sell it," I patted his shoulder. "I gotta say M, you've seen better days."

The ex-Hokage looked gown and chuckled. "Yeah. Boy am I glad I don't look like that in Ken's land."

"You mean heaven?"

"Yeah."

"So, you ready for this?" I asked.

"Sure am," he replied with a grin.

I then created a special reinforced Neo Shadow Clone and a bunch of normal Kage Bunshins. While they went about the business of acting like they were kicking his ass, I began the process of flipping through a long string of handsigns. As I neared the end I called out, "Ok, now!" The regular clones dispersed, but the smoke hung around longer than before, creating an effective smokescreen. I then finished up the handseals and the special clone and I dived into the smoke.

"Ready?" I asked.

"I am!" Minato replied.

"I hope this works!" I muttered before I called out the name of the jutsu. "Soul Transfer!" I then placed my hand on Minato and pulled my hand away. A ghostly apparition followed it and I pressed it into the clone. Minato crumbled into dust, leaving behind a random Sound guy that had been used for the jutsu. I tossed a camouflage tarp I had quickly unsealed, so one couldn't see the body unless one investigated the spot closely. As I did this, the clone did a sealess Henge and transformed into what the recently decomposed body had looked like; a deathly copy of Minato. By now the smoke was clearing. Minato, in the body of the clone, quickly dropped to the ground.

"Ok. Let's go pull off the second act, shall we?" I asked.

"I'm all for that," he replied before putting on a very pained and shameful face. I, in turn, put on a livid face of one who looked like they weren't done delivering some righteous fury just yet.

"Sorry but 10 minutes is up!" Orochimaru called, his tone full of mirth at the situation we were selling. His smirk just got wider as he saw our faces. "Not that I don't love how this is playing out Naruto-kun, but I have a village to squash."

"Yes, well, we wouldn't want your party to be spoilt," I replied sarcastically.

"He he he, let's see how well you joke when you're forced to fight your father like he would an enemy!" Orochimaru laughed as he tried to place a seal inside Minato's head. But since he was a clone and not his Edo Tensei body, the tag would not go in.

"What the?" Orochimaru muttered in confusion.

(Cue song The Ruler of Time and Space by Naoshi Mizuta from Final Fantasy XIII-2 Original Soundtrack)

"Yeah, it's not going to go down that way," Minato replied as he jumped over to our side and created two clones. The clones then flicked a kunai each at both Senju brothers and the clones disappeared in a flash of yellow light before instantaneously appearing in front of the brothers, who had caught the kunai. The real Minato then flipped through several seals. "Prepare yourself! Shiki Fujin!"

"Shiki… Fujin?" Orochimaru asked out loud. Minato then cried out in pain before The Hokage brothers collapsed to the ground. There was a big hole in both of the clone's clothes around the stomach and a seal similar to the original seal that used to be on my stomach faded into view. Then the clones dispelled and the Hokage brothers decayed into dust once more, showing the faces of Dosu and Zaku.

"Now it's your turn Orochimaru!" Minato roared out.

"Dispell the Barrier, NOW!" Orochimaru screeched. The Sound Four did so and Orochimaru disappeared only to be replaced with Jirobo, the big guy of the Sound Four.

"What the?" he blinked before his eyes widened and he collapsed, dead.

"Shit!" Minato cursed before he collapsed, also dead, as he dispelled.

"Dawn, your sword!" I called to my girlfriend. She nodded and quickly summoned it. She tossed it to me and I unsheathed it before I Ki Stepped over to Orochimaru and took a swipe at him. He was totally unprepared for it and all he could do was throw out his arms. But that was exactly what I wanted him to do. The sword slashed through his arms at the elbows, but instead of cutting them off, the blade passed through his arms, like the sword was an illusion. I then Ki Stepped back to my original position, sheathed the blade and passed the sword to Dawn.

"Thanks, Benihime," I grinned at her, pulling her into a hug.

"Anytime, Shirokishi," she smiled back before placing a light kiss on my lips.

"AAARRRRRGH! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MEEE?" Orochimaru roared as his arms now flopped uselessly around. He was able to lift them from the shoulder, but as for using his hands or elbows, it wasn't happening. It actually looked rather funny.

We then all moved to surround Orochimaru and the remaining members of the Sound Four. I pointed my monstrous blade at him and grinned. "You're surrounded Dr. Evil!" I said, while Dawn and Trunks grinned and shook their heads.

"…shit," Orochimaru replied and I chuckled as he had played that one perfectly, despite it being a coincidence. "We're retreating," he growled out. He then smiled and I knew something was up. "But I'll leave you a playmate to have fun with." He turned to Kidomaru. "Send the signal." In response Kidomaru flipped through a few seals and released a flare shot. We all looked at the flare, wondering what he was signaling for.

A cry of pain sounded and we all drew our attention back only to see Orochimaru's mouth open and a snake grasping his Kusanagi, which was currently impaled right through the Hokage.

"SARUTOBI!" I cried out in horror as Orochimaru's tongue whipped the sword out and back into his mouth.

"Until next time, Naruto-kun," the Snake Sanin laughed before he and the Sound Three retreated off the roof.

"Hiruzen! Hang in there Hiruzen!" I cried out.

"Medic!" Dawn cried out. At that point a loud, inhuman roar sounded from beyond the wall. I looked up to see a massive shape. A familiar shape.

"Shit! I do not have time for this!" I growled as Ultima Weapon from Final Fantasy X towered over the wall and trees. It then began to smash down the wall.

"It's… ok, Josh" Hiruzen whispered. "I don't think it was a fatal shot."

"It doesn't matter. I'm staying here until the medics get here," I replied. At that point a team of medic ninja appeared on the scene and began to stabilize Sarutobi.

"J… Naruto," Sarutobi said softly. "Protect Konoha. Please!" I reached out and placed my hand on his shoulder softly. "I promise Hiruzen, I will protect Konoha." Sarutobi gave me a smile before he fell unconscious. The medics then placed him on a stretcher and moved him toward Konoha General with a squad of ANBU guarding him.

I stood up and looked at the demon monster that just plowed through the wall. "I'm ending this battle, now!" I grunted before I removed the Bahamut materia and streamed a large amount of my chakra into the crystal. In response the ball glowed and two bolts of light burst from the crystal. They shot into the air, created large seals in the sky, and two large dragons blasted through the seals, shattering them. They glided down and landed in front of me on the roof.

**"I see you've summoned my older brother with me. What's the special occasion?"** Bahamut asked. But I was too busy taking in the newcomer, who was a dead ringer for Garnet Bahamut from Final Fantasy XIII-2.

"Uhh, yeah! We've got ourselves a big fish today," I replied as I pointed in the direction of the new menace.

**"Woah?! Is that Ultima Weapon?"** the new Bahamut asked. **"How did he get free?"**

"It doesn't matter. We need to kill it. Can I could on you two to help out?" I asked.

Bahamut gave me a grin, or at least, it looked like a grin. **"We're all the backup you three are gonna need."**

"Thanks. Try to push it back out into the forest. Then you can go nuts without worrying about danger close," I put forth.

"Sounds like a plan. By the way, I'm Pyreforge. Nice ta meet ya," the newly introduced Bahamut brother replied.

"Josh Kitsuné, a pleasure to be working with you," I replied with a bow. "Now let's go kick some Weapon ass!" I roared as I, Dawn and Trunks jumped onto Bahamut and we took off towards the monstrous demon.

"So what's the plan?" Trunks called over the howling wind as we sped over the Konoha cityscape toward the invading demonic force.

"Get it back outside the wall into the forest where we can go all out in killing it off!" I yelled back.

"This is not going to be easy. That's Ultima Weapon! An S-class demon. How the hell did Orochimaru summon it here?" Dawn asked, her red hair whipping around her.

"I have no idea. For now, let's just kick this demon back to hell!" I replied as I looked down, seeing all the Leaf ninja looking up at us in awe. "Oh I just know that's going to turn out bad," I muttered.

(Cue song Thousand Suns by Masato Koike from Dynasty Warriors 7 Soundtrack)

**"Ok, we're here!"** Bahamut rumbled as he slowed down and landed about a kilometer away from the demon. We all jumped off his back and watched as Pyreforge charged up a red mass of energy from his mouth and blasted his attack at Ultima Weapon.

"What is that attack?" I asked Bahamut.

**"Giga Flare,"** Bahamut replied before he also took off. He then charged up his own attack, a light blue energy beam, and fired his attack at the demon, adding in his power to Pyreforge's. Ultima Weapon then began to shift backwards as the power of the Mega and Giga Flare pushed the demon back. They kept up the attack and UW picked up speed and was pushed back through the wall and deep into the forest. As soon as the monster was a good 10km into the forest, the Bahamut brothers stopped their attack and came back to pick us up.

As we made the trip toward Ultima Weapon, I took the chance to study it. It really did look like the same monster from Final Fantasy X, encountered in the Omega Ruins.

"Well this is going to be fun," I said sarcastically.

"Yeah," Dawn replied.

I then pulled my sword around and looked at one of the materia that was inside it. "Well this will be a great time to get my materia some experience. Especially my Comet materia." I then withdrew the Comet Materia and was about to cast my first Comet spell since first using the Training Room, when Ultima Weapon moved its hands. Then six glowing points of light appeared around it.

"Oh shit! Bahamut! You and your brother might want to start dodging right about now!" I yelled.

**"I see! Hey Pyreforge! Incoming anti-air at 10 o'clock!"** Bahamut warned his older brother.

It wasn't a second too soon as laser bolts of white light begun firing at us. It was exactly like someone was firing anti-air fire at us. We twisted and turned as the bolts of light continued to fire toward us. After about a minute, the attack died down and Bahamut leveled out.

"Ok, here goes!" I called as I put chakra into the materia I was holding. The materia flashed once before a seal opened up about 500 meters above Ultima Weapon's head. From the seal, a large chunk of flaming rock charged out of the seal and slammed into the demon's head. It stumbled a bit but stayed strong.

"Shit! I knew it was strong but damn. Where's Yuna's overclocked Holy spell when you need it, huh?" I grumbled. "Ok Bahamut. Set us down. We'll go in and tackle this thing on the ground. Warn us when you've got a clear shot to bring the Mega Flare rain, ok?"

**"Sure thing boss,"** Bahamut replied as he set us on the ground before flying off again.

"Damn, that thing is huge!" Trunks muttered as we looked up at the thing that towered more than 100 meters in the air.

"Yeah, it's way bigger than it is in Final Fantasy X," I replied.

"How big was it in that game?" Dawn asked.

"Bout 40 feet tall," I replied.

"Well demons are different in real life," she replied as she readied her sword, as did Trunks.

"Ok," I nodded as I readied White Requiem. "Trunks, you still got that summoning gun?" I asked.

"I do," he replied.

"Well, be ready to use it. I feel a whole lot better knowing that we can call in some major artillery if needed," I said as a Mega Flare blasted Ultima in the back. It wrenched around and fired a large sphere of energy from its chest at Bahamut. The dragon barrel rolled out of the way, barely missing the attack.

"Let's waste this motherfucker!" I cried out and we charged in. "This is the best time for me to try out a little move I've been itching to try out!" I stopped and gripped my sword. I looked at the crystal and saw that it was glowing with golden energy. Over the past month I had been injecting small amounts of my Youki until I had about a tail's worth stored inside there. I gripped my blade with both hands and gave it an almighty horizontal swing, releasing the stored energy inside. The result was a wide and thin golden slicing shockwave that roared over Dawn and Trunk's heads and impacted Ultima. The demon roared as blood gushed out in torrents from the point of impact. I jumped over to where Dawn and Trunks were.

"What was that?" Dawn asked.

"A little move I've been meaning to use for a time like this. I call it, the Foxclaw!" I replied grandly. "A tail of stored energy released as a slicing shockwave. The wave is very thin and it slices deep."

"Useful technique," Trunks nodded approvingly before we continued to charge at Ultima. Now his attention was on us and he fired another Shimmering Rain attack at us. We used our ninja awesomeness to dodge every single of those bolts of light that were aimed at us. By now we were at his feet. Trunks and I began to chip away at his legs to get him to topple while Dawn used fire jutsu to burn the wounds we made. Ultima roared in pain at this and tried to step on us but another Giga flare pounded at his back.

* * *

-] Third POV – With Byakuya and Renji [-

Byakuya cut down yet another Sound ninja before ne turned to where he felt a significant disturbance on the edge of the city. He jumped up to the top of a building to see what it was, and saw a monstrous form with two large dragons pummeling attacks at range.

Renji landed next to him and looked over in the same direction. "General… what is going on there?" he asked.

"I sense the Commander and his friends have gone to stop an S-class demon on their own. Brave… but foolish for their strength," Byakuya replied in his usual monotone.

"With your permission, I'll go and back them up sir," Renji said.

"No. You stay here and lead in my absence. I will go help the Commander," Byakuya ordered.

"A-are you sure?" Renji asked, not believing that the General was allowing him to lead.

"Just don't dishonor the squad," the Nova General replied before he disappeared in a flash of pure speed.

"Yes sir!" Renji saluted before he jumped down to the street below.

* * *

-] Third POV – With Zabuza and Co [-

"C'mon you weaklings! I want a challenge!" Zabuza roared as he swung his new sword at his opponent, killing him instantly.

Haku was busy downing several Sound ninja with his ice sebon. And the twins were tag teaming a Sound Jōnin with their claws.

* * *

-] Third POV – With other members of the Kitsuné Clan, Inuzuka Clan and friends [-

"GATSUGA!" Kiba roared as he and Akamaru drilled through the Sound forces with ease.

"Take em down Kuromaru! Show these Sound idiots why they should fear the Inuzuka and Kitsuné Clans!" Tsume Inuzuka cried out as her animal partner charged forward.

"Yeah! Taste my new blade! Ocean Soul!" Suigetsu grinned as he fought off three Sound Chunin all at once.

"No one harms my Trunks-kun's friends village!" Karin screeched as she detonated several explosive notes.

"I have no wish to fight… but I will help protect my friend's home!" Jugo said solemnly as he delivered a clothesline hit to a Sound Jōnin.

"Can you imagine if Josh hadn't warned us about this? We'd be caught with our pants down," Kotetsu asked his friend as he knocked out a Sand ninja that tried to attack him.

"Crude, but you're right. We would have seriously been caught off guard if not for Josh," Izumo replied, throwing a kunai at a target.

"I feel bad about attacking people who I once called allies," Kin said sadly as she bound up the Sand ninja that Kotetsu had knocked out with ninja wire.

"I know it must be hard, but you made your choice and they made theirs. You can't save them all," Kakashi replied as he placed a consoling hand on her shoulder.

"It's ok. The fighting will be over soon," Rex said as he jumped up onto Kakashi's head, making him look very odd.

"My Eternal Rival Kakashi! There is a fox in your unyouthful hair!" Gai yelled from across the street.

"Great, that's all we need, Gai getting worked up again," Genma sighed before clashing with a Sound nin with his kunai.

"Stay still. I may be a vet, but I can help you!" Hana spoke clearly to a wounded Leaf ninja.

* * *

-] First POV [-

"This is going to take forever!" Dawn cried out before letting loose another fire jutsu.

"Well short of summoning a super giant concrete donkey from the sky, we don't have any other way of ending this quickly. Guess we have no choice but to summon in some help!" I replied as I let off an extra powered up Ikkyu Nyu Kon. Unfortunetly I didn't see a Core Blast that Ultima had just fired at me from above. I looked up to see the thing bearing down on me.

"Shit!" I cursed as I readied myself to Ki Step out of there, but then a voice spoke from behind me.

"Scatter, Senbonzakura."

At that point a storm of what looked like millions of sakura petals blocked the attack before redirecting it into the sky away from the Bahamut brothers.

"What…? Sakura blossoms?" I blinked in confusion before I turned around to see Byakuya standing behind me. I jumped up and blinked.

"Uhh, General. How come you're here?" I asked in an uncertain tone.

"I sensed this S-class demon appear and thought you might need a hand," he replied in that same monotone of his. But it seemed he was nowhere near as cold hearted as he was in the Bleach anime.

"Well, I appreciate it. We've been chipping away at it, but it's taking too long. We'll be exhausted and begin to make costly mistakes before we take this thing down," I replied.

"Then it's a good thing that I am here," he said before his sword returned to him. He then seemed to focus before he dropped his sword.

"Bankai."

The sword disappeared and in its place, large towering blades rose up around Ultima. As soon as they were all fully grown, they all dissolved into the sakura blossom scene I had seen before. Only now there were perhaps billions of those small little blades.

Byakuya swept out his hand and Senbonzakura surrounded Ultima completely in a sphere of spinning sharp blades. It looked like a titanic Rasengan made up of Senbonzakura blades. And Ultima was in the center. Then the sphere began to get smaller and smaller. Loud roars could be heard from inside the sphere. After a minute the cries ceased but the blades continued to cut as the sphere continued to shrink. And then, after another 3 minutes, Senbonzakura returned to Byakuya's side. And there was nothing left of Ultima but a massive amount of blood.

"Daaaaammnn…" I said.

"Your courage is impressive that you engaged in a fight of this caliber with the strength you and your friends currently wield. But I suggest you gain strength quickly before tackling a similar demon," Byakuya said in a monotone.

"Uhh… yeah, sure thing," I replied.

"At least the village is safe from the demon," Dawn said.

"That's true. We won today," I grinned.

"I don't think the fighting is completely over just yet. Maybe we should get back and start the cleanup," Trunks suggested.

I nodded. "Good idea," I agreed as the Bahamut brothers swooped down to transport us back to Konoha.

* * *

[AN: sorry this chapter took so long. I've been working on other projects. That and I always have trouble in writing fight scenes.]


	25. Chapter 25: The New Hokage is WHO?

**Chapter 25: The New Hokage is WHO?**

"Hoooo MAN! It's finally over!" I gasped out as I flopped face first onto the couch. The last 24 hours had been exhausting to be sure. After killing off Ultima, we had returned to Konoha to finish mopping up the last of the Sound forces. By that time Sand as a whole had surrendered and were all held in one of the largest training grounds. Then the real cleanup began, moving the dead bodies off the streets, scrubbing the blood off the pavement. I created a few hundred clones to help and even Byakuya ordered his unit to lend a hand.

That had taken us well into the night. Then we set up temporary housing for the Suna forces until we knew that to do with them. I had been arguing with the old bats in the council on whether to execute them, interrogate them or let them go back to their village. I was trying to get them to allow them back to their homeland and the only reason I was being listened to at all, was because every Jōnin that participated in my meetings backed me, including Jiraiya. I eventually won the battle and I personally gave the good news to Baki, who was now the de-facto leader of the Suna forces.

Then I had to go through with explaining what I had done to Gaara. I explained that I had given him a temporary solution to his Shukaku problem, but I suggested that Jiraiya look at the original seal to find a more permanent solution. Gaara had done a complete 180 when he had woken up, saying that there were no more murderous whisperings in his head and was currently in awe at how warm his sister's hands were. It would be a while before he would recover mentally for a proper conversation so I left the two alone.

Then we went through the process of organizing the villagers that had been evacuated back to their homes. And that took the rest of the night and most of the morning to do. And this was where I now stood, or rather, almost knocked out on the couch.

"It's been a busy time," Dawn agreed as she eased herself next to me and wrapped her arms around me. I did the same to her and held her close.

"I'm so exhausted…" I mumbled into her chest which was where my head was currently pressed up against.

"Same here…" she replied. It wasn't too long after that that we both fell into a deep sleep holding each other closely.

* * *

"…sh… rd Josh… Lord Josh!"

I opened my eyes to see Zack, one of my bodyguards, shake me awake. "Lord Josh, I'm very sorry to wake you from your sleep, but an urgent message just arrived."

I sat up, pulling a slightly disheveled Dawn with me. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. "Mmmwats goin' on?" she asked sleepily, her ears drooping in drowsiness.

"Urgent message apparently," I yawned back. "What time is it?"

"It is 7:23PM, my Lord," Zack replied.

"Half past seven, huh. Well what's the message?" I asked.

"Only that your presence is required at Sarutobi's side. He's choosing his successor," the fox replied.

"Successor huh? Did the messenger say how he is?" I wondered.

"He did not."

"Well, we better get a shower first before we go there. I still smell of sweat, dirt and blood," I said as I dragged Dawn from the couch and we headed upstairs for the shower.

Half an hour later we were back downstairs. I was wearing black pants, a grey t-shirt and an open dark grey shirt over the top. Dawn now wore a white loose shirt and light grey pants.

"Right. Let's go," I said before we left the mansion together.

* * *

"Damn…" I whispered as I looked at the old man.

"It seems there was some poison on the blade and they're having trouble identifying the compound," Hiruzen replied, coughing softly. He was hooked up to a few machines and a few tubes were stuck into him.

"He's stable, but we don't know for how long. The medics have done all they can but…" Jiraiya explained. Including him, Kakashi and Hiashi Hyuga were present. All three had the potential to become Hokage.

"Well you should have called on me long ago," I sighed before I flipped through several seals and called out, "Kuchiyose: Doctor Nuro!" I slammed my hand on the ground and a second later Dr Nuro stepped out of the smoke.

"Commander," he nodded respectfully at me. "Is there someone that needs my help?"

"There is," I replied as I pointed at Hiruzen. "He's got trace amounts of an unknown poison circulating his blood. The medics here have done as much as possible to remove most of it and he's stable for the moment, but we're unsure how long that will hold out."

The fox doctor nodded. "Leave it to me, Commander. I'll fix him up."

* * *

After an hour of waiting outside, the doc opened the door and motioned for us to come back inside.

"Well I removed the rest of the poison and I patched him up. It was a rare strand of venom from a snake native to the Summon Lands. A Black Ops Assassin summon. Though it's not correct to call them summons as they are loyal only to the Lord of the Hebi Clan Summons, Manda, and are not part of the summoning contract," he explained.

"Not part of it?" Kakashi asked.

Nuro turned to him and nodded. "That's right. The Black Ops Assassination squad from the Hebi clan, or BOA if you prefer, is meant to only be used in clan affairs and is left off the summoning contract for this very reason. They're not to be used by any earthly summoner's use. And Manda would never allow a human to use his most deadly asset. He's too proud. So I'm very curious as to how the owner of the sword used against this man was able to acquire such a rare and dangerous poison."

"Does the Kitsuné Army have something similar?" I asked.

"Of course. We have a few special squads and groups. Zulu Squad being one of them."

"But how was I able to command them?" I asked, forgetting my current rank and thinking I was just a normal summoner. The Doc gave me a pointed look for a few seconds before I blinked and scratched my cheek in a sheepish manner. "Ah, right. I'm the Commander. Still getting used to that."

"But I digress. He needs to rest for about two weeks until he's back in perfect health. That poison really did a number on him," Nuro explained. "You're lucky I still had stores of antidote for this particular poison left over from our last clan war with the Hebi clan."

"Thanks a lot Doctor," I smiled and shook his hand.

"Anything for our Leader. I assume that that's all I'm needed for?" he asked.

"Yes, thank you. You're dismissed," I ordered with a smile. He bowed before he disappeared in a poof of smoke.

"You've got yourself an amazing healer there Naruto," Hiruzen said, making sure to call me Naruto while in public.

"Thanks. I'm just glad you're going to be ok," I replied.

"Well, now onto why I called you all here, to name my successor. While I'm cured now, I realize that it's time I go back into retirement. No longer can I keep up with the younger generations. It's time for a new perspective," Hiruzen said.

"So who's it going to be? Kakashi? Or maybe Hiashi? After all he was the most likely candidate after Minato himself. Or maybe you want Jiraiya? But he'll refuse. Then there's Tsunade-" I was cut off by the Hokage.

"No, Naruto. It's going to be you," Hiruzen smiled.

"Oh, nice one Sarutobi. Being brought back from deaths door seems to have improved your sense of humor. Now Tsunade may be drowning in her sorrows at the moment, but I'm confident I can get her back," I grinned at the old monkey's joke. I then blinked as I saw his smile at me, but it wasn't a joking smile. "W…what? M-me? Hokage? Are you serious?" I asked.

"I'm very serious. While you will need some serious training for the position, I believe you have exactly what it takes to be the Godaime Hokage," Hiruzen replied. He sounded confident in me.

"But what about Hiashi? Or Kakashi? Or Tsunade?" I asked.

"While they have the skill, strength or political know-how to take the position, they lack elements that you have. A strong Will of Fire. Do you know of it?"

"Yeah, I know it."

"And it's not just that, but your foreknowledge of our world and the future is what we need, I believe, to create a lasting true peace in this world. You're also young and that brings about a new change to our village every time it happens. It happened with Minato, and I believe that Konoha will prosper under your rule. It's not just me. Jiraiya, Kakashi and Hiashi all agree with me." I turned to see all three smile at me and nod their heads.

I was quiet for a moment. "This is…" I fell silent again. "This is… Hoooo! It's… amazing and terrifying at the same time. I have no idea how to run a village. And those Council Members will eat me alive!"

"You'll have help. You'll be able to choose your advisors for the time you are in office," Hiruzen replied.

"Really?" I asked, now very curious. "So I could kick Danzo out of the Council?" I asked.

"You're the Hokage. You make up the rules. The only reason I didn't kick him out long ago is because I needed him close by so I could keep my eye on him."

"It's partly thanks to that ass that the Akatsuki became a criminal organization instead of staying as a vigilante group in Ame!" I growled.

"What?" both Hiruzen and Jiraiya blurted out in surprise.

"Hmmm, maybe a story for another time," I said before sighing. "If I do this, then I'll do it on one condition. That I'll be able to do whatever mission I want, whenever I want. Ok?"

"I don't see how that's a problem. As long as you explain what each mission you do will entail. We don't want our new Hokage to go and get himself killed," Hiruzen replied.

"Fair enough," I agreed. "Guess that means I get to sit in the chair!" I grinned.

"One of the good perks in the job is that chair," Hiruzen ginned as well. "And now that paperwork isn't an issue anymore, you'll have more time to watch over the village than nose deep in approving a new shop somewhere."

"Well then, in a week I'm taking Jiraiya with me on a mission," I said.

"Well it will take time to set up your inauguration. So it will probably happen when you come back. But you'll be called to a formal meeting with the Fire Daimyo, all the main ninja clan heads, Danzo, Homura, Koharu and Jiraiya to officially appoint you as the Fifth Hokage in a couple of days," Sarutobi warned me.

"Lovely. Well at least I'll have some support, right?" I asked.

"You will. Mine will carry the most weight as will Jiraiya and Hiashi," he explained.

"Right. Well, can I go home now? I'm still dead tired," I replied with a tired smile.

"Of course. I'll send someone by to tell you the details of your meeting," he said.

"Kay," I nodded before Dawn and I left the room.

* * *

"Well I sure didn't expect that," I murmured as I collapsed face first on the bed.

"Neither did I, Lord Hokage," Dawn replied.

"Oh very funny Dawn," I rolled over to look at her.

"You can do this. I have faith in you, just like Sarutobi does," Dawn said.

"I know you do. It's just so sudden," I replied.

"Why don't you sleep on it? It'll help," she suggested.

"I don't know how I'm going to sleep with this news in my head," I sighed.

Dawn then smiled sexily and she wrapped her arms around me. I smiled and did the same with one hand on her hip. "I bet I know how I can help," she whispered as she captured my mouth in a kiss. I responded instantly and licked her lips, seeking entrance. She opened her mouth and I slid my tongue inside her mouth. I twirled my tongue around hers and she responded by moaning and pressing herself up against me.

I then moved my hand from her hip to her knee and slowly pushed up her dress. In response she pushed her own hand under my t-shirt and traced my stomach and chest. Her touch sent jolts of electricity from where her hand touched me, turning me on. I moved my hand from her outer thigh to her inner thigh and she raised one leg up, granting me access. I palmed her thighs and reached her underwear. I pressed my thumb against her covered slit and she took a quick intake of breath. Her hand left my chest and grasped my hardening dick through my pants.

"I want you," I moaned as she rubbed her hand over my erection. To stimulate how much I wanted her, I dipped my hand under her panties and pushed two fingers into her hot, wet pussy. She gasped and moaned loudly from the feeling.

She then pushed herself away, reached up and removed her black g-string from her as well as her boots. I grinned as I unzipped my pants and removed them quickly, releasing my hard on as it stood straight. Dawn gazed at me with lust filled eyes as she gave the tip a long lick before she maneuvered herself so that her ass and pussy were directly in front of my face while her head was positioned at my dick. She then clamped down on my penis and began to suck it off in a frenzy. In turn I rose my arms up and pushed her pussy down onto my mouth and began licking and diving my tongue into her slick tunnel.

"Oh! Ohhh Josh!" Dawn moaned before she took the tip in her mouth and circled it with her tongue. I moaned in pleasure and the vibrations of my moaning hit her clitoris. "MmmmmMMMph! MMmmmmmmmMMmm," Dawn moaned loudly as she continued to suck me off. One of her hands started to softly play with my balls and the feeling almost made me buck into her hot mouth. I tickled her clit with the tip of my tongue before I lubed up a finger in her leaking juices and slowly inserted it into her asshole.

"MmmmmMMMMM! MMMMPH!" Dawn cried out as she sucked on my cock as I slowly pumped my finger in and out of her asshole, my tongue delving deep into her cannel and wiggling violently inside there. She then began to pump up and down on my dick, making loud slurping sounds as she did so. I then really did start to buck into her mouth and I felt the tip of my cock hit the back of her throat each time I did so. I sped up my finger pumping and I could hear her close to cumming. I switched my tongue for four fingers of my opposite hand and pumped both openings hard and fast. She couldn't take it anymore. She released my cock and screamed out, "I'M CUMMIIIIIIIIIIINGGG!" before her cum blasted onto my face in a torrent of sweet juices. I lapped up as much as I could before I flipped her around and shoved my cock into her mouth. Unfortunately she was too knocked out from her orgasm and so that left me only one way to find my release.

I slowly began to face fuck her. I didn't want to hurt her but I wanted to cum in her mouth so bad. I sped up and she quickly sobered up from her orgasm and took over. My balls were aching at not finding release from before but now the pressure was quickly building up.

"Dawn… I'm gonna cum soon!" I grunted out in pleasure and her answer was to speed up. I started to buck into her mouth; her lips felt so damn good on my dick. I pumped my dick in and out of her mouth a few more times before the pressure hit a breaking point. "Dawn, baby! I'm Cumming!"

She then took the tip in only and swirled her tongue around the tip. I growled loudly as I came into her eager mouth. She continued to swirl her tongue around my tip even as I shot cum after cum into her mouth.

After a minute, I was completely empty. Dawn had taken to swallowing once throughout the whole time and now she swallowed a second time. I collapsed back on the bed, already feeling the drowsiness kick in. I felt Dawn crawl up to me and wrap her arms, legs and tail around my body.

"I think I'll be able to sleep now," I chuckled softly as my tail intertwined with hers before I drifted off with a smile on my face.

* * *

(Cue song Kounai by Cheru Watanabe from Prince of Tennis Original Soundtrack 3)

"You were chosen as the Hokage?" Suigetsu asked in disbelief.

"Yep," I replied as I tapped the end of a pencil against my chin, trying to think of something to write down. "Man, I haven't written a list by hand for… I can't remember. It's been that long. Man I could kill for one of Tony Stark's holographic display computers right now."

It was currently morning the next day and everyone in the Kitsuné Clan was sitting around the breakfast table eating while I broke the news. I was also busy writing a list of things I would need to do now that I was Hokage. And I was currently wishing I had an iPad to type it all down.

"So what's the first thing you'll do as Hokage?" Kin asked.

"Uuuhhh," I hummed as I looked at the top of my list. "Get everyone to address me as 'You're Awesomness'."

"'You're Awesomeness'?" Haku asked.

"Yeah. I don't like the sound of 'Lord Hokage' or 'Hokage-sama' very much. So that's what I'm going to go with. It took a while to think it up too," I replied before I blinked. "Ahh! No. 23: Illegalize Fox hunting. Punishable via a week with Ibiki and Anko. No restrictions on Anko," I muttered as I wrote it down. I felt a pair of lips press themselves against my cheek and looked around to see Dawn beaming at me.

"I ain't doing it for you. I just love foxes, period. I'm not going to tolerate this shit happening in my village," I replied. I then blinked. "_My_ village. It's going to take a while to get used to calling it that." I then looked up from my list. "So what do you all have today? Anything exciting?"

"Most of us are still on cleanup duty from the assault. The wall that monster destroyed needs rebuilding too," Zabuza said.

"I have my induction test today," Kin said.

"Oh, good luck with that," I said. "Hope you get at least a Chunin grade outta it." I then sighed. "I just remembered that I owe Hinata, Neji and Shikamaru an explanation for the assault. I'll get Kiba and their dads to help out."

"I'm going to do some gardening," Jugo replied.

"Oh cool. Gardening's not my thing but I like a pretty garden so I look forward to what you've got planned," I nodded.

"I've got a date with Trunks!" Karin chirped.

"Wait… what?" Trunks asked nervously.

"Have fun you two," I replied, not looking up from my list.

"Wait Commander, I didn't-" Trunks began but I cut him off.

"Just go and have fun with her. You've earned some time off. Half of the plan was your idea so go. Knock yourselves out," I said, still not looking up from my list. I then took out my wallet and tossed Karin a large wad of cash. "Give him something to carry, Karin," I grinned, which was mirrored by her.

"Thanks Josh!" she replied.

"Yeah, yeah," I murmured as I went back to my list. "Hmmm… now what would be 24?"

* * *

"So why are our dads here?" Shikamaru asked as he looked at Shikaku, his own father. Both Hinata and Neji looked at Hiashi.

"Who are we waiting for?" Neji asked as he continued to stare at the Hyuga monarch, though there was no hatred in his gaze anymore.

"He'll be here soon," I replied.

We were sitting in the courtyard of my place. We were waiting for Kiba to show up. Dawn was sitting next to me while Hinata switched between glancing uncertainly at her stoic father and curious looks at me and Dawn. I was just about to send a clone to find out where Kiba was when he walked through the doors that led onto the marble floor.

"Hey Jo…Naruto!" he greeted, almost slipping up on my name.

"Kiba," I replied as I stood up and bro fisted my friend.

"I assume he is who we've been waiting for?" Neji asked.

"Yep. Now Shikamaru has worked out half of what I'm going to tell you today, but I'll explain for the Hyugas present," I said before I took a deep breath.

"Now I'm sure everyone knows the official story of how the Yondaime Hokage killed the Kyuubi. Yes?" Neji and Hinata nodded. "Well that was a lie. Kyuubi was too strong for him to kill. So he did the next best thing and sealed it inside a baby, the only medium strong enough to keep the Kyuubi from continuing to mow its way through Konoha. The technique used to seal the fox inside the baby involved summoning the Shinigami Himself to provide the strength needed to perform the sealing. This also meant that the Fourth had to sacrifice his life force as payment for the Shinigami to seal the Kyuubi away." I paused in my explanation to see everyone's faces. Both Shikaku and Hiashi looked sad, remembering the loss of life and the loss of their beloved Fourth on that day. Neji and Hinata looked shocked. And Shikamaru and Kiba, who guessed or knew parts of this, still looked a bit shocked as all the information was laid out.

"Now, who do you think that baby grew up to be?" I asked gently.

There was a pause before Hinata's eyes widened. "You?" she asked.

I nodded. "That's right. Kinda anyways. Now comes the second part. I'll be talking about myself in third person now. A few days before the Academy Graduation test, Naruto was attacked by an unknown assailant. Somehow the attack cut his soul from his body. His soul ascended to heaven." I paused to gauge everyone's expression. "Obviously most of you are confused. After all if I died, then how come I'm still here, talking to you?"

"That's right. It makes no sense," Neji agreed.

"Well here's where things get really weird. Just hours after Naruto was admitted to the hospital, the god of this world, whose name is Ken, journeyed to another realm in search for another soul similar to Naruto's own. He came across one and was able to recruit him to fuse with Naruto's empty shell of a body. If this hadn't happened, the youki of the Kyuubi would've eventually exploded from Naruto's body due to a lack of a soul to power the seal holding the youki at bay. And if that had happened, the explosion would've taken half of Fire Country with it, with the remaining lands dying within a year from the fallout."

I paused. "So yeah, I'm that soul."

"Is what he's saying true?" Neji asked Hiashi with Hinata turning to him as well. The Hyuga clan leader nodded. "It is true."

"Troublesome," both Naras intoned in almost perfect symmetry.

"S-so… you're n-not really…" Hinata left it hanging. Strangely though, she didn't seem as upset as I thought she was going to look. I mean, she looked ready to cry, but she didn't look totally devastated. I smiled sadly and shook my head. "I'm sorry Hinata, but Naruto died a few months ago. But don't worry." I took out my iPhone. "This device allows me to talk to people who have died, provided I have the right number to call them. Naruto is now happily living with his parents." Hinata didn't look as sad as she looked previously with this knowledge.

"No wonder you were able to beat me in the finals," Neji muttered.

"Nah, Naruto would have still won the battle. That battle would've just been longer and more evenly matched," I grinned at him.

"I was shocked when he first told me, but yeah, I believe him," Kiba spoke up.

"How come Kiba-kun k-knows about all of this before we did?" Hinata asked.

"Well his mom vouched for him to know about me in the 1 month hiatus before the Third Exam. That's why," I replied. "Anyways, now that the big surprising revelation is out of the way, now we can get down to the remaining ones."

"There are more?" Shikamaru asked incredulously.

"Sure are," his dad replied.

"In my home realm, aspects of this world have made an impact in the form of a cartoon revolving around Naruto, his friends and the battles that they encounter. Using this information, I collaborated with the Hokage and twenty other ninjas, Hiashi and Shikaku included. Kiba's mom, Tsume, was also included in these meetings. And so over the course of the past month I've been using my knowledge of this invasion to plan an effective counterattack while keeping casualties and collateral damage to a very bare minimum. And while that big ass demon that Orochimaru somehow managed to summon was an unwelcome suprise, the plan went without a hitch."

"So… you know the future?" Neji asked.

"To a point. And only if things continue to go the same as they do in the story that I know. As long as that happens, I'll know the details and be able to counteract any bad shit from happening to us." I then turned to Hinata.

"That's why I keep saying that you have what it takes to become a very powerful kunoichi. Because I know, literally, that you do become one. But it's not just that," I added quickly before she could get the wrong idea in that the only reason I believed in her was because I saw it on an anime show. "Even if I had never seen that show before, I still would believe in you." I was rewarded with a shy smile in return.

'Phew! Seems like she doesn't hate me after all. That's good,' I thought to myself.

"Now onto the subject of Kyuubi," I said and recited the ancient war, the creation of the Juubi, its sudden madness and defeat, the creation of the Bijuu, Kyuubi's past and her current identity and the fact that I was now a Kitsuné Hanyou, the new Lord of Foxes and the current Commander of the Kitsuné Army. All three kids were very surprised, but Shikamaru was the quickest, as usual, to put all the pieces together and recover from the shock.

"So… I think that's all I need to say for the moment. I ask you keep all of this information to yourself unless you want me to tell someone and I agree. I'll be announcing my real identity soon so you won't need to keep this secret for long," I said, getting three nods in return.

"By the way, the Hyuga elders were less than pleased about what you said to Neji in the finals," Hiashi said.

"Well, screw them! They're effectively mind raping anyone with a branch seal when things don't go their way. Even when they have a bad day thanks to sources from outside the clan they'll still activate the seal on the nearest branch member just to make them feel better. Fucking pieces of shits! I promise you that I'll get right on to creating a new seal that has no manual activation, painless and that everyone can wear. That way the two houses can join together. And if the elders don't like that then that will just prove their disgusting fetishes once and for all," I swore. I saw that both Hinata and Neji were smiling at this proclamation.

"I've been waiting for a chance like this to stick it to those old fossils. If something like that could be made it'll give me the authority to abolish the current council," Hiashi replied excitedly.

"Speaking of those seals, do you still have that headache Neji?" I asked.

"No," he shook his head. "What was that?"

"Well I just streamed my youki into the seal and overloaded it, breaking the seal. You now no longer have the Cadged Bird seal," I grinned.

"What?" he replied, unbelievingly.

"Hiashi, would you try to activate Neji's seal?" I asked. He hesitated before doing so after seeing my confident smile. Neji screwed his eyes shut in preparation for the pain, but nothing happened.

"Told ya," I smiled.

"It… it's really… gone?" he asked.

"Yeah. At least until I make my new seal and slap it on you. Course I'll have to remove the very minute amounts of youki still in your forehead. No seal will stick there until I remove it. But I'll keep it there, just in case one of the old dingbats decides to be a douchebag and tries to place a new Cadged Bird seal on there before I finish my own seal," I said easily. But then I was interrupted when Neji walked over and gave me a strong hug.

"Thank you, Naruto," he replied thickly before releasing me.

"Hey, you're welcome," I grinned at him.

"Wait a m-minute? If you're name isn't N-Naruto, then what i-is it?" Hinata asked.

"Crap, I did it again. Got so wrapped up in telling the important stuff I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Josh Kitsuné," I grinned sheepishly.

"Wait, how are you going to help abolish the Cadged Bird seal? You would need to be in a position of considerable power to help do that," Shikamaru asked.

"Well Naruto was, and is, the son of the Fourth Hokage. I'm pretty sure that seat is still there on the council?" I asked Shikaku.

"It is indeed," the older Nara nodded.

"Besides, that probably won't be an issue for much longer," I replied.

"What do you mean?" Kiba asked.

"You'll find out, in about three weeks I think," I smiled mysteriously.

* * *

"So remind me again, why are we going to go to Tanzaku City in a couple of days?" Jiraiya asked me.

"Cause we're getting Tsunade back to Konoha," I replied.

"And how are you going to do that?"

"Bet her over a drink."

Today saw us chilling at my place. The last week had been interesting. Three days after I had told Hinata, Neji and Shikamaru my real identity, I was called before the Council (both Ninja and Village versions) and the Fire Daimyo so they could be told of who the new Hokage would be. I argued with Jiraiya beforehand as he thought that they should be told exactly who I was and my knowledge of the future, but I won the argument saying that only selected people would know as this kind of information in the wrong hands aka Danzo, would lead to me to be incessantly hounded by people wanting to know what the future held for them. Plus there was the fact that any information about my true self could fall into the hands of enemies. At this point he relented.

So the whole Village Council and a few in the Ninja Council and the Fire Daimyo believed that I was still Naruto Uzumaki. Most kicked up a huge fuss on the fact that I was named as Hiruzen's successor and it would have continued if the man himself hadn't been called to the meeting. While still weak from the procedure, his voice still carried loudly through the Council Chambers. Everyone shut up at that point.

Danzo then called for a vote on who should be the next Hokage. He clearly thought that Hiruzen had finally lost it and that most if not all of the other members of the Ninja Council would think so and not support him. He was wrong. Thanks to the support of most of the Ninja Council as well as several of the prominent clan heads and the past living Hokage, the majority of the vote was in favor of me becoming the new big cheese. Which made it official.

I was now the Godaime Hokage.

I was then told that my inauguration would be in 10 days. And this was when I dropped the Minato bomb on them, claiming that I was the son of the late Fourth Hokage. Naturally quite a few people objected loudly on that. So Naruto's birth certificate was put forward by Sarutobi. This shut those people up.

The birth cert also said that I was the last surviving heir to the Uzumaki line. This meant that I was also connected to the Senju line as well. And finally the Namikaze line, which seemed to have been a founding Konoha clan. Not as big as the Senju's or the Uchiha's or even the Hyuga's, but definitely no slouch either. However their entire clan was slowly killed off in the Second Great Shinobi World War, leaving behind an orphaned, 2 year old Minato. This was new info to me, so I was very interested in this.

So with Naruto being the 'surviving' heir of both the Namikaze and the Uzumaki clan, plus now being the Hokage, I now had control of three seats on the Council. I then requested that I legally change my name to Josh Kitsuné, creating the Kitsuné Clan. When they asked on what grounds, I told them of my ability to use Ki energy. While I didn't know if this ability could be passed down to any kids I would one day have, I wouldn't ignore the fact that this would help me in creating my new clan and having the CRA placed on me.

My gamble paid off and now I was officially renamed Josh Kitsuné. I had to admit, it felt good having my real name be the only name I had. I had to abandon the Uzumaki and Namikaze clan seats to create the Kitsuné Clan, but it was a small price to pay.

Now that the Kitsuné Clan had been created, I was asked to explain how I could summon multi-tailed foxes and whether this was a sign that I was now the Kyuubi or not. In response I lifted my shirt and channeled my chakra, showing an Eight Trigrams Seal on my stomach. It wasn't _the_ Eight Trigrams Seal that originally sealed Dawn inside Naruto; that had disappeared when I had become a Kitsuné hanyou. But in order to keep up appearances, I applied a fake one to the same spot that could be seen when chakra was channeled into it. Jiraiya then lied to the council, saying that this was proof that the Kyuubi was still inside me and still firmly locked away.

But they still wanted to know where the foxes had come from. I then told them that I gained the summoning contract along with a few others from Gatou's stash that I had raided in the Wave mission. When they asked which other contracts were recovered, I replied that I wouldn't divulge the details and that as Hokage, I could legally do this. They grumbled a bit but got the message.

I then gave my first order; that I would be travelling with Jiraiya, to bring the Legendary Medic Ninja, Tsunade, back to Konoha to become the new Head Medic of Konoha Ninja General.

But enough of reminiscing…

"You're going to bet her over a drink? That's a stupid idea. She's able to drink even me under the table," Jiraiya replied.

"Oh, don't you worry about that. I have a plan. Even if I lose, I plan to still drag her back, kicking and screaming if I have to," I said confidently.

"Well that's one thing you have in common with Minato. His unshakeable determination," the Sanin replied.

"So did Naruto, but he was more like his fiery mom in his determination," I replied, chuckling as I remembered Naruto in the first series. I then turned serious. "There's another reason why we're going to see her."

Jiraiya caught my expression. "And that is?"

I was just about to explain when there was a soft whoosh noise and Ken appeared in front of me.

"Oh hey Ken. What's up?" I asked.

"Just thought I'd keep you updated with the manga storyline. It's still the same as in this one," he replied before he walked up to me and placed one finger on my forehead. I felt some information download into my head before he withdrew his finger. "I'll keep you updated," he finished before he disappeared.

I was silent for a minute as I sifted through the new info.

"Uhh, Josh?" Jiraiya asked.

"Oh god damnit!" I cursed when I got through the info on the most recent chapter of the manga, Chapter 618: The One Who Knows Everything. "Man, Kakashi is not gonna be a happy chappy. I'm gonna have to take care of that temple after I bring back Tsunade. And between the Ten-Tails and demons, I'm no longer thinking all this help from Ken and the Kitsuné Army is overkill."

"Sorry, what?" Jiraiya asked.

"Oh, never mind. Not something you need to be worried about just now. Besides, I was going to tell you the other reason we're doing this. Orochimaru is pissed at the moment because he can't use his arms. So he's going to seek out Tsunade in the hopes that she can heal his arms. It's impossible, of course. One would need to somehow get those portions of his soul back from the Shinigami to do that. But he doesn't know that. We're going to stop it from happening," I explained.

Jiraiya's face was now serious too. "I see now. So why aren't we going there right now?"

"Cause there's no need to do so right now. It's going to be several days before they meet. Besides, I've got something important to take care of now," I replied, having made up my mind about something that had me indecisive for a while now.

"What's this something?" Jiraiya asked.

"Saving Itachi Uchiha."


	26. Chapter 26: Gaining a Weasel Ally

**Chapter 26: Gaining a Weasel Ally**

Itachi Uchiha. For a while I had been on the fence about whether to recruit him into my clan or not. I had been thinking about it a lot recently since it was almost time for his debut. But with this new information, I now wanted to save him from his fate.

"Who?!" Jiraiya jumped to his feet in surprise and shock.

"You don't know?" I asked before I shook my head. "Of course you wouldn't. Hiruzen wouldn't tell you and I totally doubt the old prunes on the Council would either."

Jiraiya calmed down with a heavy sigh. "I hate being so out of the loop."

"That's why I'm gonna tell you Itachi's true history. Or at least, the bits that are relevant at the moment." I then created a shadow clone and had it go grab some left over dinner from last night.

(Cue song Mystery Time by Kousaki Satoru from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya: Remote Island Syndrome Part 1 OST)

"Thanks to the battle between Hashirama and Madara, the Council knew that the higher levels of the Sharingan could control the Kyuubi. And after she went through her rampage 14 years ago, the Council started suspecting them of being behind the incident. So they boxed the clan away and kept them under surveillance," I began when my clone brought back the leftovers of last night's spag bog with rice.

"Did they?" Jiraiya asked as he was given his own plate. "Mmm, this is good," he added as he munched.

"That's a story for another time. Anyway, the constant suspicion and discrimination that followed gave birth to feelings of ill-will, and ultimately rekindled the clan's feelings of hatred towards the Senju-influenced government. In planning a coup, they entrusted Itachi to spy on ANBU activities, since he was ANBU already. However Itachi is a loyalist to Konoha as well as being a pacifist. He knew that the civil war that would break out would spark the fire that would flame the beginnings of the Fourth Great Shinobi World War. So he took all the information that he had learned in the secret meetings, and gave it over to Hiruzen and his three advisors."

"Now Sarutobi was always against the treatment of the Uchiha's. He wanted to attempt a peaceful resolution with the clan. However Danzo had other plans. He convinced that slaughtering his entire clan was the only way to avert the coming crisis, promising that Sasuke would be spared after Itachi brought up that non-negotiable condition."

"And so, on a moonlit night 4 years ago, Itachi wiped his whole clan off the face of the earth, save for himself and Sasuke. He then left the village a traitor and soon afterwards he joined Akatsuki to keep Konoha safe from the organization until the day Sasuke will come looking for him," I finished up, both my explanation and my lunch.

There was a moment of silence. "There's more to it, isn't there?" Jiraiya asked.

"Of course there is. A few incriminating details against Danzo are part of the story too, as well as a few other major points. But right now, this is all you need to know. Rest assured that there will be a time, sooner rather than later, where I'll disclose the whole truth as well as a few other things that need mentioning. Just trust me," I said.

Jiraiya was silent before he nodded. "Ok, I trust you."

(Cue song Assembling the Team by Brian Tyler from Fast and Furious 5 - Rio Heist Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

"Good! Well, Itachi and Kisame should be infiltrating the village in a couple of days. We'll need to be ready," I grinned before I flipped through seals and slammed my hand onto the floor. Seven small one tailed foxes appeared before me.

"Ok, I need four of you to go find Kakashi, Kurenai, Suigetsu and Zabuza and tell them to report here ASAP," I said. Four of the foxes nodded and sped off.

"You," I pointed at a cream colored fox. "I need you to get Ibiki Morino to deliver two of his strongest Chakra sealing bindings here. Tell him its Hokage's orders." The cream one nodded before he sped off as well.

"You two," I pointed at a pair of brown foxes. "Get Izumo and Kotetsu to get me a gate guard duty roster for the next week that has profile pictures of the ninja on the roster." They took off.

Next I focused and flipped thought the same seals, this time having some in mind when I released the energy onto the ground. There was a large puff of smoke and there, standing 20 feet in the air, was the same dark indigo 8 tailed fox that introduced me to the Kitsuné Army a few months ago.

"General Kaiden Grememora, reporting for duty Commander," the fox saluted.

"Kaiden! Good to see you again," I replied with a big smile. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jiraiya nervously eye the large fox. "How have you and your wife been?"

"We've been good. I heard from Byakuya that you were, and I quote 'competent' when commanding his troops a few days ago," he said.

"Coming from Byakuya, that's high praise," I blinked in surprise.

"Father," Trunks greeted his dad.

"Son. How's life been here for you?" Kaiden asked.

"It's been… an experience," he replied with a small smile.

"I'm glad you're having a good time," Kaiden smiled.

"I summoned you here to ask after someone who would be up to a long-term mission impersonating someone," I asked.

"Hmm… there is someone who's perfect for that role. His name is Rez," Kaiden answered.

"Big brother Rez?" Rex asked.

"You have a brother?" I asked.

"Yes, Rez has a unique skill where he's able to scan a target's brain and impersonate them to a degree where even the originals will be convinced they're looking at a mirror image. Behavior, mannerisms, skills, techniques. He copies it all. All while retaining his own sense of self and his mission," Kaiden explained.

"Sounds like one hell of a fox," I replied. "Is he busy?"

"I'm not sure. He's not under my command. He's part of Zulu Squad so you'll need to summon Captain Yamu for the details," he said.

"I see. Thank you Kaiden. Dismissed," I nodded.

"Yes, sir," he bowed his head before he disappeared in a poof of smoke.

Next I summoned Captain Yamu. He told me that Rez was free and had been for a while. Yamu then left for about 2 minutes before he returned with a second person. I blinked because for a second, I thought that Dark from D. had just materialized in front of me. Then I registered the black with silver tips fox ears and 6 tails.

"Commander, this is Second Lieutenant Rez Bregston," he introduced.

Rez saluted before grinning and sticking his had forward. I shook it without hesitation. "Commander. Pleasure to finally meet you," he greeted. I blinked again, because he even sounded like Dark's English voice action, Vic Morgana.

"Same to you. I never knew Rex had an older brother," I replied.

"It's cause you never asked," Rex replied before he changed into his human form and hugged his older brother. "Its soo good to see you, Rez!" he said with a massive grin on his face.

"Same to you little bro. When I heard you got a mission from the big wigs on the Council, I admit I was a little worried. But it seems that everything's under control here," Rez replied with a smile.

"Yep! Mister Commander is a really nice Commander," Rex beamed.

"So, Commander. What's the mission?" Rez asked.

"Not right now. I want to wait until everyone is here before I begin the mission briefing. So while we wait, would you like something to drink?" I asked.

Rez blinked. "Wow. The Commander of the Kitsuné Army and Lord of Foxes is offering me a drink?" He turned to his superior. "We sure lucked out with this one, didn't we? We could've gotten a complete asshole warmonger but instead we got a nice guy."

"Lieutenant! Be more respectful to your commanding officer!" Yamu scolded, however it didn't sound very harsh. It was as if he half expected this to happen; like an everyday occurrence. He turned to me with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry sir, but the Lieutenant here's never been one for protocol," he said, proving my thoughts on the matter correct.

"It's ok. I wasn't raised in the military so casual is fine," I replied. While I enjoyed every summoned fox treating me like a respectable Commander, I still liked the casual approach.

"Well I won't say no to a drink, but let's keep it non-alcoholic please. No getting tipsy before a mission," he replied.

"Good wisdom that," I nodded before creating a clone to whip up some coffee. I looked at the Captain. "Do you want to stay for a cup of coffee?" I asked.

"I'm going to have to decline. I'm busy whipping new recruits into shape," he replied before saluting. "Commander," he finished off before he dispelled into smoke.

For the next 15 minutes we waited before Kakashi arrived, the first to show up. Then Kurenai and Zabuza together, though if I was to guess, the two only just met up near my mansion cause Zabuza's face was still beet red. And Kurenai was smiling lightly. This led me to start believing that Kurenai was actually into shy guys and not confident ones.

'But hang on, isn't Asuma confident? Or at least more than Zabuza around Kurenai,' I thought. I came to the conclusion that either Asuma was shy after all, or Kurenai was fed up for waiting for her 'shy guy' to appear and went with the next best thing. Cause to this day, I still had no idea what she saw in the chain smoker. Maybe he was just a good guy. Or maybe it was because he was a childhood friend who graduated with her. But here, it seemed that she was quite taken with Zabuza and enjoyed his company.

A few minutes after those two arrived, Suigetsu came in with his new sword strapped to his back. And then, several seconds later, Izumo and Kotetsu arrived with Izumo carrying a folder of medium thickness.

"Thanks you guys," I said as Izumo handed me the folder.

"Ya know, ever since you told us the truth about yourself, I had an inkling you were gonna become the head honcho around here, but I didn't think it would be this quick. I expected you to be the sixth, not the fifth," Kotetsu admitted with a grin.

"Fifth what?" Kurenai asked.

"Hokage, of course! Haven't you heard the news?" he questioned in surprise.

"That's because she doesn't gossip as much as you," Izumo replied. "Only housewives gossip as much as you."

"You're Sarutobi's successor?" a deep voice asked and we all turned around to see the head of Torture and Interrogation looming over us.

"That I am. Do you have a problem with that?" I asked as I stood to face him.

"You proved that you had wisdom in my test and the counterattack against Orochimaru that you devised was simple, yet effective. You've got a good head on your shoulders and you've shown that you care about the people who work under you. You lack real experience but I have a feeling that it won't be a problem for much longer," he said before he stuck out his hand. I took it and gave him a strong handshake. "I have no qualms about working for you. Others will so it'll be up to you to crush their doubts."

"I think I can handle that," I replied.

He smiled and handed me a case. I unclipped the front and saw two thick metal collars with a multitude of seals written on them. I picked one out and looked at Jiraiya. "Your handiwork?" I asked.

"Some, but most of them were taken care of by Minato. That one looks like the Chakra blocker choker that doesn't zap you with electricity when you try to access your chakra. That's his work," Jiraiya replied.

"Right," I replied with a nod. I turned back to Ibiki. "How do these work?"

"They seal off chakra from being accessed. As long as they're used on a human, they should seal someone of Hokage level for 3 hours by themselves.

I nodded and grinned. "Thanks for these."

"Whatever you need these for, I don't care. Just try to bring them back in one piece," he replied before letting himself out, with Izumo and Kotetsu leaving as well.

"Ok! Now that everyone is here, let's start this mission debriefing," I grinned in anticipation before launching into my plan.

* * *

-] Two Days Later [-

(Cue song The Wall by Ramin Djawadi from Game of Thrones Soundtrack)

My headset buzzed once. _"Bogies sighted entering West Gate,"_ a voice said on the other end.

"Tail them and give me regular reports, Lookout Team," I replied. "Our quarry has been sighted. Illusion Team, are you good to go?"

"_Illusion Team, ready,"_ was the response I got.

"Assault Team?"

"_Assault Team, ready."_

"Very good," I replied before I sat down and waited with Hidden Avenger in my hand, deactivated.

After ten minutes…

"_This is Lookout Team. Targets spotted entering Karagura's Café."_

"Begin tailing them Illusion Team. Don't be too obvious. We don't want to tip them off to our real objective."

"_Illusion Team, moving out."_

From there Lookout and Illusion Team tracked them as the targets made their way over to my location. Just before they came in range of sight, I activated the stealth cloak and stood ready.

I quickly recognized them as they walked along one of the several canals that run through the village. Both wore long, dark cloaks with red clouds, a red interior, and a chin-high collar. One was a full head taller than the other and wore a large bandaged object on his back, held in place by a wide belt. And both wore conical straw hats with small ornamental torques and tassels hanging down over their faces.

I walked slowly over to where they had stopped. One was looking around. I then stopped myself and listened in.

"I thought you said he was around here," the tall one said.

"I did too. Very interesting. I'm sure I sensed him here just a minute ago," the shorter one replied.

I grinned. It seemed that the stealth cloak fooled even S-ranked individuals. I then tapped my headset three times, signalling the start of the plan.

A few seconds after I had sent the signal, Zabuza and Suigetsu landed in front of the two Akatsuki members.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the Bloody Shark!" Zabuza grinned as he and Suigetsu faced off against the tall one.

"Well I'll be! Zabuza Momochi. It's been so long since we last met." His head turned slightly to the side. "And you must be Mangetsu's little brother, Suigetsu."

"Kisame-sempai," Suigetsu replied respectfully, though I could see it in his eyes that he no longer cared for him or his sword.

"I find it strange that you're both Konoha ninja now. And where did Kubikiribōchō go, Demon of the Hidden Mist?" Kisame enquired.

"I still have it, but now I use Ragnarok," he replied as he held up his sword.

"Curious design, but I've got no right to say that. And your sword, is a very beautiful sword," Kisame complimented Suigetsu as he removed his hat, showing his shark like features. Suigetsu's response was to go into a ready stance.

"Itachi, can I have some fun?" Kisame asked his partner. His reply was to open his coat from the top and remove his own hat, showing his blazing and fully mastered Sharingan. However he said nothing. But Kisame took that as a yes and he removed the bandaged object from his back and slammed it into the ground in front of him, breaking straight through the pavement.

"It looks like we cannot leave this village without a fight. But don't overdo it. Your moves stand out too much," Itachi finally spoke.

"Then it's settled," Kisame grinned before he, Zabuza and Suigetsu vanished from their spot and engaged in a furious swordfight on the water.

'Now's my chance,' I thought as I slowly began to move forward towards Itachi, who remained oblivious. I reached forward, the chakra sealing collar in my hands. I froze when Itachi glanced to the side, his Sharingan boring into my eyes. He looked at me for a few more seconds before he looked elsewhere. I suddenly realised that I was holding my breath. I continued to do so as I reached forward and successfully clipped the collar around his neck. The seal immediately activated and I breathed out as I watched Itachi's eyes widen in utter surprise as his Sharingan deactivated. His moment of surprise allowed me to slap a seal to his forehead, the same type I used to knock out Gaara. I then grabbed him to prevent him from falling down.

"Illusion Team, go!" I spoke into my headset.

Kurenai and Kakashi joined the fray with Zabuza and Suigetsu against Kisame. The two combined their Sharingan and genjutsu know how to create a very strong illusion over Kisame, who dropped to the surface of the water and almost went in the drink if Zabuza and Suigetsu didn't grab him and move him over to where I and Itachi was. I then laid Itachi on the grass and clipped the second seal collar around Kisame's neck.

"So far so good," I said as Kakashi and Kurenai joined us.

"He should be thinking that he's engaged in a fight with you two," Kurenai said, pointing at Suigetsu and Zabuza.

"Well done you two," I replied before I tapped my headset once again. "Lieutenant Rez, you're up!" Rez immediately appeared in front of me in a kneeling position before standing up. "Roger that Commander," he said before he walked over to an unconscious Itachi. He touched his forehead and closed his eyes for a moment. He stayed still for two whole minutes before his form shimmered brightly before the light died down and there stood a perfect copy of Itachi.

Rez, now as Itachi, got back up and turned to me. "Process complete, Commander," he reported, him attitude completely different. No longer was he the casual guy from before. Now he was the stoic Uchiha who killed 99% of his clan.

"Wow… that's spooky," I replied, impressed at how replicated everything was. I was definitely convinced, but the real test would be when Kisame recovered. "You sure you can pull this off? For almost 3 years?"

"I've had longer assignments," he replied.

"Ok. Let's see your Sharingan," I said. The three tomoe and red irises of the Copy Wheel Eye appeared. "What about techniques? Can you do his Mangekyō?" I watched the black tomoes shift into a three pointed wave shaped shruiken with a red dot in the center. "And what about the techniques one does with the Mangekyō?"

Rez deactivated the Sharingan. "That's when I run into a problem. You see, I don't actually have the Sharingan. I can activate it visually, but in the end it's just a pair of pretty eyes. I can't do anything with them. I might as well just be wearing contacts because they do the same thing. So I need to rely on using my Kitsuné Genjutsus to create the image and then use another jutsu to create a similar effect," he explained.

"I see. I don't think there'll be any time you'll use the advanced techniques of the Mangekyō stage except when you and Kisame ambush Jiraiya and I at a town on the way to Tanzaku city. But there shouldn't be any need to do that this time around as it doesn't serve a purpose. The only reason it was in the show was because the creator needed to introduce Sasuke's brother and Akatsuki somehow," I replied. I then looked at the real Itachi still conked out on the ground. "I guess we need to get this guy secured before he wakes up and tries to escape before I have a chance to explain things to him. Let's set the scene up then."

From there I moved Itachi via Ki Step back to my place where Jiraiya got to work on a seal that would keep Itachi from moving. I returned to where Kisame was and readied everyone. After a moment, Kisame was on the path next to the river with Rez next to him. Facing the two were Zabuza and Suigetsu with their weapons drawn and in fighting stances.

I looked at Rez. "I wish you luck. Remember to send weekly reports on your activities unless there's something of particular importance you need to report on."

"This isn't my first tango, Commander. I'll be just fine," he replied.

"Very well then," I nodded before I unclipped the chakra collar on Kisame and jumped away, going stealth quickly. Then Kakashi and Kurenai hid themselves and used their chakra to manipulate the genjutsu Kisame was experiencing to join up with reality, and then released the illusion. The two swordsman gave a good three count before they rushed at Kisame. The shark man's eyes snapped open and he guarded with Samehada before pushing them back with a heavy swing, putting some distance between them.

"Not bad, Demon of the Mist. You sure haven't gotten rusty here in Konoha," Kisame said as he drew himself up and stood his sword up on its tip with him grasping the handle.

"It won't be long until ANBU reinforcements arrive. But we will hold you here until they get here," Suigetsu replied.

"Interesting. You're quite daring," he replied with a predatory grin.

"Kisame," Rez spoke up. "We're going to stop." Kisame grunted in indignation, but lowered his sword. "We didn't come here to start a war. Unfortunately, fighting any more is nonsense. We're leaving."

"And I was just starting to get excited… very well," Kisame replied before the two of them shunshined away.

I reached for my headset once again. "Karin, are they truly leaving?" I asked.

"_They're heading for the West Gate… … … …and they're out, heading south-west,"_ Karin replied over the headset.

"Thank you Karin," I replied before I deactivated the stealth cloak and walked out of the bushes with Kakashi and Kurenai. "Let's hope everything goes well. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a weasel to chat with." I then Ki Stepped away, back to the mansion.

* * *

-] Three Hours Later [-

(Cue music silence)

"So doc, you're saying he's got the same thing that Hayate has?" I asked.

"Not for much longer if he's been keeping up with his medication times, but yes, he's got Lung Cancer as well," Nuro stated.

"What are the odds? Is it possible that you could've been wrong on the rarity of Lung Cancer here?" Dawn asked.

"Well, it is possible. Before you, the last time I visited this plane of existence was about 500 or so odd years ago. Things can change in that length of time," he replied as he rubbed his chin.

"500 years? How old are you?" I asked.

"Well we're not Land Guardians so, unlike you, we have lifespans of about 1000 years, I'm 657 years old this year. My grandson loves to mouth off at me, calling me 'old'. I'm still middle aged, damnit!" the doc raved for a moment before he calmed himself. "I've gotten off topic." Here he reached into his coat and withdrew a pill bottle and his medical scanner. He held the scanner in front of the bottle and pressed in a few commands before pocketing his scanner and handing the bottle to me. "His condition is a lot worse than Mr. Hayate's was. So it will take longer for him to recover. Three times is the estimate. Contact me when he needs another batch."

"Thanks doc. You're a lifesaver," I smiled.

"I'm a doctor. It's my job. But you're welcome. As for his eyes… that's a lot trickier," he sighed.

"No problem, I'll ask Ken to see if he can do something about it," I replied.

"Very well. Summon me when you need my help again," he said before he disappeared in a poof of odorless smoke.

I looked at Itachi for a moment, eyeing the seal on his forehead. "You sure the ropes are tight enough?" I asked Trunks.

"As sure as I can be," he replied.

"Well, I did write a few paralysis seals on the rope, so if anything goes wrong I can freeze him. And he still has that chakra seal around his neck. Still, keep a sharp eye on him you two,' I cautioned.

"Right!" they both answered.

"Well, here goes nothing," I steeled myself before reaching over and peeling the seal on his forehead off. A few seconds his eyes slowly opened and he looked at me with a small amount of confusion in his eyes.

"Looks like things didn't go as planned, did they Itachi?" I asked in a friendly tone.

"Truly I did not expect you to try and capture me, Naruto," he replied in that emotionless tone he used.

"Try? Looks to me like I succeeded," I said.

"Perhaps," he replied before he struggled for a moment. The confusion in his eyes returned, stronger this time.

"I took no chances with you. Not only are your hands and feet bound with a rope that has paralysis seals covering it, but you also have an S-class chakra sealing collar around your neck. I know you will be able to overcome that in time, but it will give me a three to four hour window to use," I explained.

"Use for what?" he asked.

"To convince you to join my clan."

I smiled as Itachi showed possibly more surprise than anything I had seen him display ever. "Join your clan? You know who I am so you must know my history."

"I know more than you would ever guess. Not even your craziest speculations could come close to the knowledge I hold of you," I replied confidently.

"You sound very sure of yourself. Very well, let us see just how much you know," Itachi dared. I simply grinned before I began.

(Cue song Sign - ACC Long Version by Kazuhiro Toyama & Kenichiro Fukui from Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete Reunion Tracks)

"You were born into the Uchiha clan as the eldest son of Mikoto and Fugaku Uchiha, and was praised by all as the best of your generation, and a genius above all others. Even by the standards of the battle-adept Uchiha clan, your prowess far outshone their own. However, few could understand you. When you were only four, you had already witnessed countless lives lost due to the Third Shinobi World War, which emotionally traumatised you and turned you into a pacifist.

You were a highly perceptive child, wise beyond your years and spent much of your time researching the history of the village from the writings their ancestors left behind. Because of this, you were never limited to the view of your own clan but worried about the fate of the village as a whole.

At age 7, you graduated from the Academy at the top of your class after only one year, mastered the Sharingan at age 8, passed the Chunin Exams at age 10, enrolled in ANBU half a year later and became captain by 13." Here I took a pause.

"That's public knowledge, and flattery will get you nowhere," he said flatly.

I chuckled. "Ohh, I'm just getting started. Here is where I start delving into secrets not known to the general public, or even 99% of Konoha's whole ninja force, including ANBU. When the Uchiha clan began planning to overthrow Konoha, you, as an ANBU, were tasked with spying on the village. Knowing that a coup d'état would only escalate to the beginning of another ninja-world war; you began spying on the Uchiha instead, passing on information to Hiruzen Sarutobi and the Konoha elders. Though the Third Hokage ultimately decided to reason with the Uchiha in order to dissuade them from their actions, Danzō Shimura met secretly with you and inveigled you into choosing the lives of your clansmen or that of your little brother.

During this time you began to act strangely, not attending the clan meetings, speaking out against the clan, and becoming the prime suspect for the murder of your best friend Shisui Uchiha, who was drowned in the Naka River. In reality, Shisui died after he entrusted his left eye to you, the other having been taken by Danzō Shimura. Due to this the clan lost hope in you, and your father began shifting his focus to Sasuke instead.

Meanwhile, the Third's attempts to negotiate a bloodless end to hostilities between the two parties were proving ineffective, so against Hiruzen's wishes, Danzō Shimura and the Konoha Council ordered you to wipe out the Uchiha clan." I took another pause because I could no longer keep my amusement silent. As I talked, Itachi's eyes got wider and wider and his mouth opened in complete shock. I took out my iPhone and took a quick snapshot of his face for blackmail later. "I can see that what I am saying is having an impact on you. Do you wish for me to continue? Because this is where we get to the meat of it," I dared. Itachi took the bait and nodded silently.

"Before the fateful night arrived, you discovered the existence of 'Madara Uchiha'," here I made exaggerated quotation marks around this name. Despite his shock at this part, he gave me a curious look. "I'll tell you after all this, if you decide to join my clan. For now, let's refer him as Tobi, as that's the name he goes by these days in the Akatsuki.

Anyways, Tobi was attempting to rekindle the flames of war in Konoha. In return for not attacking Konoha, you offered to help him claim vengeance against the Uchiha for turning their backs on him decades earlier to which Tobi agreed. You slaughtered your entire clan overnight, including your friends, superiors, family, and lover; prior to killing your parents, the two people whom you were most hesitant to kill, they stated that they were still proud of you, and requested that you took care of Sasuke before allowing you to kill them, with tears streaming down your face." Here I paused again, because Itachi looked ready to cry. I didn't blame him at all. "Do you want me to give you a moment?" I asked gently.

He paused before he sniffed and shook his head. "Continue," he replied simply.

"Very well. When Sasuke returned late from a training session, you spared Sasuke because you loved your little brother, and as per the agreement between you and Danzō, did not want to take the life of the person most important to you. You lied to your brother, making yourself out as a villain who had killed your innocent family only to test your capacity, and told Sasuke he was not even worth killing. In addition, you told him, and I quote word for word, _'You've always wanted to surpass me. That's why I'm going to let you live… if you wish to kill me, then hate me, despise me… and by all means flee, cling to your wretched life'._ You also revealed to Sasuke the secret meeting place of the Uchiha, where Sasuke could learn the true history and purpose of the Sharingan. You told him that in order to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, Sasuke had to kill the person closest to him, and that when the two of you met again, you both should have the same eyes.

Sasuke managed to stand back up, awaken his Sharingan, and pursue you. Upon reaching you, he managed to knock off your forehead protector. You shed a tear as you were picking up your forehead protector, then proceeded to incapacitate Sasuke, who awoke in the hospital, only remembering up to your speech, which resealed the Sharingan. By doing all this, you hoped Sasuke would take vengeance on you and become a hero to Konoha, thus redeeming the Uchiha name. Hoping that your little brother would someday be powerful enough to kill you, you left the village as a traitor. Knowing that Konoha would still want to eliminate Sasuke, you pleaded with the Third Hokage to keep Sasuke safe and threatened Danzō not to harm Sasuke or else you would reveal everything you knew about Konoha's secrets to enemy nations.

You then joined Akatsuki in order to keep an eye on the organisation, along with Tobi, in case either ever acted against Konoha, all the while planning for your death at Sasuke's hands. During your time in Akatsuki, Orochimaru tried to steal your body to gain the Sharingan, but you trapped him in a genjutsu and severed his left hand. You were further partnered with Kisame Hoshigaki, who initially tried to intimidate you. However, you eventually became good partners. Sometime after Orochimaru fled, you helped recruit Deidara by beating him in battle using only genjutsu, to which Deidara swore vengeance." Here I sighed and stretched, cracking my right elbow to the side. "That's about half of what I know about you. The other half is comprised of personality, abilities and a few miscellaneous things. Do you want me to tell? Or are you convinced on my knowledge of you?"

There was a long pause. "You can't be Naruto. Who are you really?" he asked softly.

"Well I am and I'm not. But I will tell you if you promise me that you will not run away after I take off the collar and ropes, and continue to listen to what I have to say all the way to the end. On your honour as a Konoha ninja. And no using Tsukiyomi on me, ok?" I asked very seriously. Itachi caught the look in my eye, and saw that I was completely serious. He nodded. "On my honour as a Konoha ninja," he repeated.

I nodded before reaching forward and unclipped his chakra collar and sliced the ropes with a lengthened claw on my pointer finger. I sat back and waited. He did nothing but shuffle into a more comfortable position on the recliner before sitting patiently, looking at me. There was no Sharingan activation and no handseals.

I smiled; glad he had decided to see this through. "Do you want a drink? Glass of water? Cup of tea? Mug of coffee? Shot of saké?"

Itachi blinked before giving a rare smile. "Water would be nice."

I nodded before creating a clone with no handseals, making Itachi raise one eyebrow, to which the clone got orders from me, Dawn, Trunks and Rex, before leaving for the kitchen.

"No handseals. Quite impressive," Itachi noted.

"Yeah, I guess," I replied, not really realising how impressive that might be to him. "Anyway, you want to know who I am. Am I really Naruto, or someone else? The truth is I am both, in a way. To explain, I need to go back in time a bit. I know you're familiar with the truth of Kyuubi being sealed inside Naruto and who his parents truly were. What you don't know is that Kyuubi was actually the Land Guardian for the original boarders of Fire Country. Kyuubi wasn't an evil force at all. The fox was just caught in a genjutsu cast by Tobi, who was then let loose on the village. Only after the fox was sealed inside Naruto did the bijuu realise what had happened. And so the entity stayed there for 13 years. Until one day, Naruto was attacked.

While this was a normal occurrence in the past, as he grew older the attacks came less and less. But this last attack was special, because it was done with a special blade. This blade was crafted from a metal known as Soul Alloy and blades made with this metal have the ability to cut away a person's soul if the blade has a large amount of chakra running through it. This is what happened. Naruto's soul ascended to heaven, but left a soulless husk behind. And without a soul, the seal began to quickly deteriorate. If a soul wasn't found in time, the seal would break, and the ensuing explosion of Kyuubi's youki would obliterate half of Fire Country and the fallout afterwards would decimate the rest of the Elemental Countries.

So the god of this world, whose name is Ken, journeyed outside of his created universe into another to search for a soul compatible with Naruto's body. He found one and brought him back, fusing the soul to Naruto's body. That soul… is me." I finished up as the drinks arrived. I took my cup of coffee as did Dawn and Trunks. Rex got some milk and Itachi got his water. I then grinned. "My name is Josh Kitsuné."

"Well… that is certainly an interesting story," he replied.

"Of course you don't believe me. Then will you direct your eyes to the TV over there," I pointed as I took up one of the PS3 controllers, Dawn picking up the second one. I then fired up the PS3 and, in turn, Naruto: Storm 1. I chose Itachi and Dawn chose Sasuke. We then vs'ed each other with me winning barely by getting in an Ultimate Jutsu at the end, using Tsukiyomi on Sasuke. As Itachi spoke his winning line, I began to talk once again. "The truth is that there are many millions, perhaps billions or maybe an infinite amount of alternate universes out there, and that occasionally, they influence each other indirectly. The influence this world had on mine was that Naruto's story was made into a very successful cartoon series. This is how I know so much about you. And it's not just you, but many others as well. This also means that I know the future."

"The future?" Itachi asked.

"Yep. That's how I was able to counter Orochimaru's plan so easily and with no casualties and almost no structural damage," I replied.

"That was you?"

"Wasn't just me. Trunks did the specifics. I just gave the overall plan. And I couldn't have done it without the help of several Jōnin, a couple of Chunin, an ANBU Commander, a Sannin and Hiruzen himself. All people I trust to keep my real identity a secret. And now you're part of that group. Also, I can cure your illness for you, as goodwill on my part. Trust me when I say that you can do so much more in protecting Konoha as part of my clan than you can in Akatsuki."

"Speaking of which, where is Kisame?" Itachi asked.

"That will take time to fully explain. But I want an answer from you, Itachi. Know that, if you agree, you will gain a new identity to keep yourself safe, for the most part. A change of name, a haircut, a change of clothes will be the start. You won't be an Uchiha anymore. Think carefully before you answer," I explained.

There was silence for a few minutes as I and my companions finished our drinks. Itachi's face was in shadow from his hair as he stared at the ground. Finally he looked up at me.

"I accept, on one condition," he said.

"Oh? What's that?" I asked.

"I want you to keep Sasuke safe from Madara's clutches," he said.

"Aww man! Do I have to keep the little shitstain safe? Really?" I whined. Itachi blinked in confusion. I noticed this and smiled ruefully at him. "Yeah, you really screwed the pooch on this one, Itachi old boy. Sasuke is currently a selfish asshole who thinks of nothing and nobody but himself and his ambition of killing you, and is willing to get power any way he can to do so. This includes seeking out Orochimaru to try and gain more power to kill you. I can see that you're still confused. You thought that what you had done to him would set him on the path to love and cherish his friends. Well either he's realised that the only way he's going to get stronger than you to kill you is to become a complete arrogant prick, or he's afraid that any friends he makes, you'll just take them away from him, causing him more pain, as he thinks you completely insane."

There was a lengthy pause before Itachi palmed his face. "Ugh… idiot!" he uncharacteristically muttered.

"Yeah, I'll say. I didn't want to tamper with this, but if it'll make you join up with me, then I suppose I'll have to keep EDM safe," I sighed heavily.

"EDM?" Itachi asked.

"Stands for Emo Douche Muffin. My personal nickname for him," I replied. I noticed Itachi's face. "You'll see eventually. So, you'll join my clan?" I asked.

He nodded. "I will join you, Josh Kitsuné."


	27. Chapter 27: Searching for the Slug Princ

**Chapter 27: Searching for the Slug Princess**

(Cue song Take Ten by Paul Desmond)

"This will serve as a good disguise until we get to the post-station that's outside the village," I said as I tightened the buckles.

"You mean the Kosaten Post Station?" Jiraiya asked.

"Is there a shrine with large suzu bells at or near it?" I asked in return.

"Yeah, the Kagi Shrine," he replied.

"Kagi huh. There's a shrine in Japan on my world that has the same name. I guess there's some influence from my world on this one after all." I then paused. "But then again, I shouldn't be surprised when there are names like Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, Suzanowo, Inari, Enma, Ebisu, Yamato and so on floating around this place."

"The first three are the three main techniques my Mangekyō Sharingan can use. What meaning do they have for you?" Itachi asked.

"They were prominent deities for one of the many countries in my world. Amaterasu the Sun Goddess; Suzanowo the God of Storms; and Tsukiyomi God of the Moon," I explained before leaning in to Itachi's ear. "Ironic that Tobi's plan is to cast his Tsukiyomi on the moon to create the Infinite Tsukiyomi."

"Indeed," he replied.

"What's that?" Jiraiya asked.

"Nothing you need to worry about just yet," I replied. Jiraiya grumbled but said nothing else.

We were just about to leave for Tanzaku Quarter, the gambling capital of the Fire Country. Since I could not get Itachi's haircut in Konoha as he would be recognised by any passing Jōnin or ANBU, I needed to smuggle him out of the city, to a small place where we could get a rough haircut from an out of the way store, and then tidy it up later from a professional when we reached Tanzaku.

I had contacted Ken on getting a set of specific clothes for Itachi to help him get out of Konoha. I also talked with him about getting Itachi's eyes fixed. He replied that, while he could restore his sight to perfect clarity, it would revert back if he used the Mangekyō, and much more quickly than before. I resolved to talk to Itachi later about this, most likely on the actual trip.

So now Itachi was dressed as Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad from the first Assassin's Creed game, though the detail of the robes was from the later games. A white robe with a hood that had a pointed section at the front, a red piece of fabric wrapped around his waist and a wide leather belt placed over the top. Unlike in the game, Itachi's version had no throwing knives or a sword belt attached to it. Underneath he wore black pants and brown leather boots. On his arms he wore leather gloves with metal plated vambraces. There were even hidden blades attached to the underneath over his wrists that would slide in and out with a certain wrist movement.

By now I had told Itachi everything about myself, including granting him access to see my true form. He showed no reaction other than the occasional raised eyebrow, but I think that was because everything else I had told him was just as mind blowing, so now he was used to it.

The plan was to make him look like a very religious priest, which would allow him to have his hood on as we passed through the gates, provided he clasp his hands in front of him as if in prayer.

Along with Jiraiya, Dawn and Rex were coming along with us. Trunks opted to stay behind as he has grown quite close to Karin already and wanted to spend some more time with her. He also promised to keep me apprised of anything that happened via fox messengers.

"You ready?" I asked Itachi.

He looked himself over. "I believe so," he replied.

"I'll get you better clothes. However that's going to have to come later. Your new identity comes first," I replied. "Now, let's sneak outta here."

We made our way out of the Kitsuné Chateau and over to the West Gate that would lead us straight to Tanzaku Quarter. Itachi got a few looks from passer-by's, but it never went above mild curiosity.

And then we got to the gate. Luckily Izumo and Kotetsu were on gate duty so it was them we greeted as we signed out.

"So where are you off to this time?" Kotetsu asked.

"We're hauling Tsunade back to become the Head of Konoha General," I replied.

"Wow, really? You're gonna have to be quite lucky, you know," Izumo warned.

"Don't worry. I've got a plan," I grinned knowingly in response.

"Uh-oh, I know that look spells trouble for her," Kotetsu grinned himself.

"So who's your friend?" Izumo asked.

"He's a pilgrim traveling to the Fire Temple. Very religious," Jiraiya lied smoothly.

"I see. That's a bit out of your way, isn't it?" he asked.

"We'll manage," I replied.

"Well I'll need you to sign out Mr…," Izumo trailed off, waiting for the hooded man to introduce himself.

"Kishimoto. His name is Kishimoto Kizuno. He's sworn an oath of silence so he can't speak," I explained.

"Oh, I see. But he still needs to sign out," Izumo insisted as he pushed the pad toward Itachi. In return he walked forward and signed the form without hesitation.

"Thank you Mr Kizuno. I hope you enjoy the Fire Temple," Izumo replied.

'Kizumo' bowed before stepping back.

"Well, we should be on our way now. We'll be back soon," I said.

"Sure thing, Hokage-sama," Kotetsu said with a big grin on his face.

"It's not official yet, you know. You don't have to call me that," I sighed.

"Whatever you say, Hokage-sama," the Chunin replied, his grin only getting wider.

I shook my head before we walked through the gate.

After three minutes of walking, Itachi walked up beside me. "Hokage?" he asked.

"Yeah. Courtesy of Hiruzen Sarutobi and most of the Ninja Council. Definitely not what I was expecting after the Chunin Exam mess. Maybe a Chunin promotion. Don't know what was going through the old monkey's head," I replied with an embarrassed smile.

"Don't sell yourself short. Without you, Konoha would've been a lot worse off. It's thanks to you that she remains as strong as she was before," Dawn replied.

"I guess that's true. Konoha's military strength did take a nosedive after Orochimaru's assault in the story," I nodded.

"Not only that, but I believe you are still the perfect candidate to be the Fifth. We all believe in you," Jiraiya assured me.

"But why am I the perfect candidate? Tsunade is still the best bet. I just feel like I didn't earn this super promotion is all. Like it's all because of my knowledge of the future. Everyone else has much better experience. Not to mention they're all much stronger than me," I argued.

"Well sensei must have a good reason for choosing you. He's not senile. At least not yet," Jiraiya replied.

"Well, I must say that it'll be a lot more easier planning and coordinating counter attacks and the like now that I'm the big cheese," I admitted.

"There you go then," Dawn said. Here she wrapped her arm around me. "And don't worry. You have me and your clan to stand by you."

"And me as well," Itachi added with a small smile.

"Same here," Jiraiya grinned.

"…Thanks you guys," I smiled.

By the time we were outside Konoha's main area of influence, we took to the trees and quickly made our way to the Post Station, which only took 3 hours when traveling this way.

Once there, we scouted an out-of-the-way hairdressers and got Itachi his temporary haircut. I told him that the main length was the most recognisable trait he had, activated Sharingan notwithstanding. So this needed to go. Surprisingly, he didn't object at all. When I asked, he replied that he didn't care much on how his hair looked, but wasn't sloth enough to neglect washing it. So I instructed the hairdresser to cut all of it to his shoulders. I told Itachi that we would tidy it up at Tanzaku, with me already having a good idea on what it would look like.

With no interruptions, we then headed to Tanzaku Quarter. We travelled in the same manner and hardly anything was said between us, more focused on getting to the city. As such we got there by the late afternoon the next day.

Well maybe there was a little bit of an interruption.

(Cue song Fight Tune "Arms of Shinra" by Masashi Hamauzu from DIRGE of CERBERUS -FINAL FANTASY VII- Original Soundtrack)

When we were having dinner (which was some of my and Dawn's excellent cooking from the night before still hot and fresh thanks to the wondrous invention of sealing) we were attacked by a group of demons that were nearby and had felt my presence. They were a group of Fangs, so they were probably just hunting around for unsuspecting travellers. Fangs were basically demonic wolves. So they were larger, meaner, hungrier, more intelligent and deadlier than ordinary wolves. They were still dumb enough to attack us though.

It was Dawn who sensed them first and alerted the rest of us. I gripped the handle of Hidden Avenger and the blade materialised, ready for battle. Dawn summoned Zanmatou from the portal. Rex grew to the size of a great dame and began to growl dangerously. Jiraiya and Itachi were the only ones confused at what was going on as they had heard no howling from the Fangs. The demons were smart enough not to announce themselves.

"What's going on?" Jiraiya asked, alarmed at our sudden battle readiness.

"Fangs incoming. About five of them," I reported.

"Fangs?" Itachi asked.

"Demon wolves."

"Demons?" Jiraiya asked, now shocked.

"I'll explain later," I replied.

"Here they come!" Dawn whispered loudly.

A fang burst forward from the darkness surrounding our campfire. It looked like a Kalm Fang from Final Fantasy X. The fang had indigo fur and glowing red eyes. A long pointed tongue flopped around from its gaping maw.

The fang leapt at me, but I thrusted with my sword and speared the fang in the mouth and through its brain, killing it instantly. I watched as the remaining four bounded into the clearing, snarling and snapping their jaws.

Dawn easily dealt with her opponent by beheading it. Rex dodged to the side and bit down hard on the fang's neck before shaking his head side to side, tossing the demon around like a ragdoll. Jiraiya flipped though a few seals and roasted his fang with a fire jutsu.

The last fang dived through the air at Itachi, but he just brought up his arm, the hidden blade sliding out of its sheath and drove the blade into the side of its skull in a takedown eerily similar to how one takes down wolves in Assassin's Creed 3.

After dragging the carcases away to a spot, dumping them in a pile and me using a stream of Flare fire to burn them out of existence, as fang flesh was poisonous according to Dawn, I set about telling Jiraiya and Itachi about demons permeating the ninja world. And that Kisame was most likely a mid-level demon himself. You'd have to be what with being half shark. They took it surprisingly well as they claimed to have seen strange things in their life. Especially Jiraiya since he lived through two Ninja World Wars.

(Cue song The Egg and I by Yoko Kanno from Cowboy Bebop Original Soundtrack 1)

And then we arrived at Tanzaku. As we entered the city, a thought occurred to me. "Hey Jiraiya? Why do you treat me as an equal anyways? When you travelled with Naruto, you always called him 'gaki' or 'brat'. But you're not like that with me at all."

"Well I would. But it's hard to do so when you're so mature and respectful to me. It's a tiny bit weird, but I respect you for it," he replied.

"Well Naruto did always call you 'Ero-senin'," I grinned.

"Ohh man! No offence to the brat, but thank kami you're here instead of him," he replied.

"Yeah because, unlike Naruto, I know the reason for your outward perverseness," I chuckled.

"Ha! No way! I'm just a Super Pervert!" he cried out as he posed grandly in front of me.

"No. You're just in love with Tsunade, but since you keep getting shot down by her, you try to distance yourself from her by perving on other women and are casual with your perving on the woman herself," I corrected.

Poor Jiraiya was open mouthed at this and recovered after three seconds. "Please don't tell her that," he pleaded desperately.

"Don't worry. I won't. I understand the need to do these things by oneself," I replied understandingly.

"Thank you!" he said as he placed his hands together in thanks.

"So what's the plan?" Dawn asked.

"Well, by my calculations, she'll be at a bar sometime around 6 either tonight or tomorrow night. She'll be mulling over the offer Orochimaru gave her today—"

"Wait a minute! What offer?" Jiraiya asked.

"Oh yeah, I didn't tell you that bit. Ok, so Orochimaru and Kabuto approached Tsunade and Shizune today. In exchange for healing the snake's arms 100%, which she can't do no matter how skilled she is, Orochimaru promised to bring back Nawaki and Dan from the dead using the Edo Tensei summoning jutsu," I explained.

Jiraiya froze again and his eyes hardened. "We can't let that happen," he said evenly, but I could tell he was holding back his anger.

"Well, like I said, it wouldn't work," I assured him.

"Why is that?" he asked.

"Dawn's sword sliced off the arms of his spirit instead of physically doing so. There are temporary ways around it, but unless those pieces of his soul are reunited with the main piece, his arms will never fully heal. Orochimaru has a technique that allows him to move his soul into another body. If a certain amount of time passes, the arms will begin to rot away. So he needs to keep switching," I explained further. I then focused and created an army of 100 clones.

"Ok everyone. There shouldn't be too many bars. You know what it looks like. As soon as you each scope out one bar, dispel yourself. Hopefully they're all unique in some way and that we'll only have to search one spot," I ordered.

"Yes, sir!" they chorused before they all henged into random people and took off.

"Well, while we wait, I need to make a phone call," I said before taking out my iPhone and ringing Minato.

"Hello?"

"Hey Minato, it's me."

"Hey there Josh. What's up?"

"Need you to set up a video call with a couple of people for tomorrow. Think you can do that for me?"

"Sure. Who are they?"

"Dan and Nawaki."

(Cue music silence)

It had been an hour since I had sent forward my army of clones before I struck gold. Tsunade and Shizune were at a bar on the south side of the city. We quickly packed up the small picnic I had brought along and headed out. Jiraiya was still drinking his drink.

We arrived 2 minutes later since we were already close by. "Ok. Let me handle this," I said as we parted the front door flaps and entered the bar. I quickly spotted our target. A woman with I-cup breasts and long blonde hair in two ponytails. She wore light pink lipstick, a grey, kimono-style blouse with no sleeves, held closed by a broad, dark bluish-grey obi that matched her pants, open-toed sandals with high heels and red polish on both her fingernails and toenails. I also spotted the green crystal necklace nestled between her giant jugs. Her grass-green haori was probably stashed somewhere.

I grinned before calling loudly, "Hey! Chesty McRack Boob! What to be our new Chief of Konoha General?" Jiraiya, who was busy finishing his drink, sprayed the last mouthful to the side of him, thankfully hitting no-one, and doubled over in loud laughter. "Chesty McRack Boob! Oh, that's rich!" he guffawed. He wasn't the only one as Dawn began giggling loudly herself. Even Itachi himself had a small smile.

"Who the hell are you?" Tsunade called back. Then Jiraiya stood back up with some trouble. "Jiraiya?!" she almost screeched in shock. "Why are you here?"

"Hey Hime! We found you. Boy, am I tired," Jiraiya replied as he walked forward. Dawn, Itachi, Rex and I got the booth on the opposite side and waited. There was silence as we all ordered some food. Well, Jiraiya, Tsunade and Shizune did. I just unsealed some of my cooking, the best tasting cold meatloaf one would ever taste with toasty homemade chips, roasted vegetables and rich gravy. As we ate, we watched the interaction between the three older adults.

(Cue song Mystery Time by Kousaki Satoru from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya: Remote Island Syndrome Part 1 OST)

Tsunade sighed as she drained her 7th consecutive sake shot. And even then, I knew she was just getting her stride. But I was confident that my plan would work.

"What a day… seeing old acquaintances everywhere," the seriously busty woman muttered. At that point Jiraiya refilled her cup and drained his own. "Orochimaru?" he asked. Shizune's shocked face said it all. "What happened?"

The short haired raven glanced at Tsunade. She looked back with a certain tone in her eyes before she faced the front again. "Nothing much," she replied nonchalantly. "We just said hello."

"Among other things," I muttered. She glanced my way and we locked eyes for a moment.

"Who's the brat?" she asked Jiraiya.

"Heh… Naruto Uzumaki," he replied. Tsunade looked back at me, no doubt thinking about the Kyuubi and me in the same line of thought. I then stood up and sat next to Jiraiya. "Though I recently changed my name," I said as I rested my fingertips against each other in front of me, resting them against my chin as I looked at her with a sly smile. "Josh Kitsuné. A pleasure to meet you."

She raised one eyebrow at how mature I sounded despite how I must've looked to her. "And is there any particular reason why you're asking me to come back to Konoha?" she asked.

"Hokage's orders," I replied simply. "You're to become the new Head Medic of Konoha General Hospital. You will also have access to the resources needed to implement the rule of having at least one medic nin included with each field squad." At this she looked quite surprised. But then her gaze lowered back to her half empty sake bottle. "Well? What's your answer? Will you accept the job?"

There was a long pause. "I refuse."

"Heh, I remember that line. I asked you out a long time ago. You said the same thing and turned me down," Jiraiya smiled.

"Quite a hard woman to please," I grinned at him.

"Your new apprentice seems to be ruder, stupider and uglier than the previous one," Tsunade commented.

"Well the Fourth is a hard adversary to match in those areas," I replied smoothly. At that point Dawn walked over and sat next to me, easily snuggling up against my body. "But I think my redhead is hotter."

"Psh! You probably bought her off to try and impress me," Tsunade said haughtily, trying to rile me up.

I sighed. "For a woman of your old age, you're really quite juvenile and immature with your insults, you know?" There was a pause as several different looks sprouted up around the place. Shizune was horrified, Dawn's face held high amusement. Jiraiya was also amused, but his eyes watched for trouble. Itachi held mild surprise at how easily I could insult one of the most powerful ninjas on the planet. Rex looked like he was about to laugh. Tsunade looked ready to blow and I held a cheeky grin on my face as I watched her next move.

(Cue song Fight Club by Lorne Balfe from Assassin's Creed 3 Original Game Soundtrack)

Tsunade brought up her fist and crashed it down onto the table, splintering it down the middle, but not splitting it completely. "You and me. Outside. Right now," she growled.

"I would rather not, Tsunade. I know at my current strength; while you would be hard pressed for a bit, you would eventually wipe the floor with me," I replied, making her blink at how easily I had admitted that I was weaker than her. "But I have a different solution, if you're not too afraid to try it?"

"Bring it on, brat!" she declared. "What's the solution?"

"A drink," I replied.

"Huh?" she asked, genuinely nonplussed at that.

"Here's what I propose. I mix up a set of five cocktails and you drink them one after the other. If you are still standing after the final drink then you win. However, if you throw up or are knocked out by one minute after the final drink then I win. Simple rules, no?"

She grinned a predatory grin at me. "Easy. If you win?"

"Then you take the job right after you recover from the set, no whining or arguing or haggling," I replied. "If you win…?"

"Then you'll be my slave for the rest of your life," she proposed.

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune protested.

"Those are my terms," Tsunade said loudly.

I looked around to see that we had drawn quite a crowd. "I accept your terms. But you must swear it. Swear it on Nawaki and Dan." Tsunade flinched back. "How do you know…?"

"That's not part of the bet," I replied. "Swear it."

The Slug Princess hesitated before smirking and placing her hand over her heart. "I swear on Nawaki and Dan's names that I will return to Konoha and take up the position of Head Medic of Konoha General Hospital if I lose this bet," she said, uncharacteristically sober at this point.

"And I solemnly swear on my life that, should I lose this bet, my life, body and soul will become Tsunade's for her to use however she sees fit," I replied.

"Hey!" called a voice and I turned to see the owner of the establishment. "You can use that table over there for the bet. Just as long as you don't drink any of it yourself." He pointed over to a long mahogany table with plenty of space around it for our new audience.

"Thank you, my good man," I replied before I walked over to the table and fished out a sealing scroll. I unfurled it and unsealed a couple parts of the scroll. This showed a bottle of Blackwoods 60 Gin, fresh lemon juice, chilled soda water, a small saucer of powdered sugar, a metal mixer, a small tub of ice cubes, a metal stirrer and a single cold highball glass.

(Cue song Beer and Friends by Lorne Balfe from Assassin's Creed 3 Original Game Soundtrack)

"I shall now begin the mixing of the first drink out of five; the Gin Fizz," I announced before I opened the mixer, placed two shots of Blackwoods 60 gin, the lemon juice, one teaspoon of the powdered sugar and a few cubes of ice into the shaker, closed it up and began to expertly shake the contents, doing a trick here and there, using my bartender skills I learned back on my home world. After a good shaking I poured the contents into the glass and topped it with soda water and ice. I then passed the drink to Tsunade, who looked a little impressed at the show. She then took the glass and downed the whole drink in one go. She placed the glass back down.

"If that's your best, then this is already in the bag. Not that you had much of a chance to begin with," she mocked.

"That's just the warm-up. Now we get serious," I replied. Next I unsealed a fresh new shaker, a chilled double old fashioned glass, a bottle of Bacardi 151 rum, a small jug of fresh lime juice, a bottle of ginger ale, a small bottle of angostura bitters, a sprig of mint, an orange wheel and a maraschino cherry. First I loaded the shaker with the lime juice, four shots of ginger ale, one shot of Bacardi 151 rum, one short of the Blackwoods 60 gin and a dash of the angostura bitters. After thoroughly shaking the contents, I poured the mix into the glass now filled with ice and toped the glass with the mint, orange and cherry. "The Suffering Bastard," I introduced. Tsunade raised her eyebrow at the name before she downed this one too with no hesitation.

"Still going strong," she smirked.

The next set of unsealed items was, again, a fresh mixer and a chilled highball glass. The new ingredient was a bottle of Jacquiot Cognac XO brandy that won the gold medal in 2011. A shot each of the Bacardi 151 rum, Blackwoods 60 gin, ginger ale and the new Jacquiot Cognac XO brandy went into the shaker as well as half a shot of lime juice and a dash of bitters. After mixing the contents, along with a few tosses into the air for a bit of show, and received cheering in response, the mix was poured into the highball glass filled with ice. "The Dying Bastard," I introduced as Tsunade snatched up the glass and downed this one as well with no hesitation. However after a moment she paused for two seconds before smiling and slamming the glass back onto the table. "Next!" she crowed, her words beginning to slur.

Up next was most of the same, but a bottle of George T Stagg 2007 bourbon was unsealed along with the fresh mixer and a tall glass. This mix started with a shot each of the same brandy, gin, rum and ginger ale, with the new 144.8 proof bourbon with half a shot of lime juice and a dash of bitters. I mixed the recipe together and poured the contents into the tall glass with ice already inside it. I then took a metal stirrer and swizled it around the glass for a bit before handing it to Tsunade. "The Dead Bastard."

This one took her a few gulps before she finished. Now I knew she was really feeling the effects of the liquor and just about ready to drop or throw up. However her status as a Sannin was not just for show as she showed little of her discomfort other than swaying faintly from side to side and her eyes were just a touch unfocused. The next drink would break her. I took a look around to see many in the crowd taking their own bets of money on this game. A few seemed to know Tsunade's reputation as an experienced drinker and so they explained it to the others, making most of the crowd bet against me. However others knew the gambling side of her reputation, and they bet against Tsunade. All in all, the feeling I got from the crowd was at 50/50.

"And finally the last drink," I said as I moved all of the previous ingredients away to the side and unsealed a set of new ingredients along with a new clean shaker, a chilled Collins glass and a one minute hourglass. Into the mixer went half a shot of Everclear, half a shot of Devil's Springs Vodka, two shots of Baileys and a shot of Barthlomews Meadery Honey liquor. I shook it up, with the crowd chanting "Drink! Drink! Drink! Drink!"

"The final drink!" I called out as I served the mix with no ice. "The Ticket to Heaven!" I passed the drink to Tsunade and she brought the glass to her lips. She began to drink quickly as usual, but halfway she slowed down. She barely got the last few sips of the drink down her throat before she set the glass down. I then turned over the hourglass and waited.

At first, nothing happened. But 15 seconds into the minute she began to sway dangerously. Everyone was silent as all eyes were on her as her eyes began to wander around the room. Halfway through the minute her head rolled to the side and she almost collapsed, but she righted herself and sat straight and still for another 15 seconds before she smiled and smashed face first into the table, completely out.

With only nine seconds to spare.


	28. Chapter 28: Back for More?

**Chapter 28: Back for More?**

(Cue song Life Is On You by Kenji Fujii from Devil May Cry: The Animated Series OST)

"Will she be alright?" Shizune asked.

"Yeah, she'll be ok after drinking this," I replied as I cracked an egg into a glass.

"What are you making?" Jiraiya asked.

"Prairie Oyster. An old pick-me-up," I explained as I dribbled a small amount of Worcestershire sauce.

"Looks disgusting," Dawn noted.

"That it is," I agreed, adding a sprinkling of salt and pepper with a final dash of Tabasco sauce.

"Nnnnuuuahh…" came a pained groan and the six of us looked over to see Tsunade holding the side of her head in pain.

"Right on time," I grinned as I set the glass onto a breakfast tray and carried it over to where she was, sprawled on the bed. I sat down next to her and set the tray next to me. I picked up a glass of water. "Drink," I ordered and handed her the glass.

"Uuugh… what is this?" she asked wearily.

"Hangover cure," I replied. "Or at least it'll help you focus. You start with this."

The blonde paused before taking the glass and slowly downed the water.

"Next is this," I said as I passed her the oyster. "Pinch your nose before drinking it. It smells and tastes nasty. Down it in one." Tsunade paused a lot longer at this one before she did so. "Bleah!" she opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue in disgust.

"Now comes proper breakfast. Freshly baked sourdough bread and butter with bacon, egg and cheese cupcakes and tomato relish," I finished up as I handed her the tray. She looked quite surprised at the spread.

"Did you make this yourself?" she asked.

"The bacon and egg cupcakes I did. Dawn made the bread and tomato relish," I replied.

She was silent. "Thanks," she eventually mumbled before she picked up a cupcake and bit into it. "Mmm… this is quite good," she added before taking another bite.

"So, do you remember what you promised?" I asked. She winced at the memory. "Yeah…" she muttered. "But I've got stuff I need to do so-"

"They won't be the same," I said sadly.

"Who?" she asked.

"Dan and Nawaki. You do know about the Edo Tensei technique, don't you?"

She looked at me. "That's the second time you've mentioned those two. How did you know?"

"Long story. But those two will just be shells of their former selves. They won't be able to eat, sleep, or live their old lives," I replied.

"…I know. But… I just want to see them… one last time," she replied in a whisper.

"They're gone, Tsunade. The dead are not meant to come back. You need to let go and continue with your life. Dan's death was over 20 years ago. It's time you moved on, don't you think?" I asked gently. She remained silent. "Besides, those two wouldn't want you to wallow in guilt and sadness for the rest of your life. And they definitely wouldn't want you to sacrifice two innocents for them." At this she looked at me in surprise. I smiled gently at her. "I guess it'll be better if you get it straight from the horse's mouth," I said before taking out my iPhone and rang Minato.

"That you Josh?"

"Yep. You all set?"

"Sure am. Whenever you're ready."

I then pressed the FaceTime button and up popped the faces of Dan and Nawaki. I then turned the screen to face Tsunade, who gasped in shock. I gently grasped her hand and manipulated her hand to hold the phone. I then stood up and we excused ourselves silently out of the room.

"Will she be ok?" Shizune repeated.

"Yes, she will. Don't be such a worrywart," I replied. "She's talking to Dan and Nawaki at the moment. That device allows me to communicate with people who have died. So hopefully they'll be able to convince Tsunade to move on and return to Konoha."

"Oh thank Kami," she sighed.

"You have no idea," Dawn mumbled softly.

"By the way, how did you manage to knock her out last night anyways?" Jiraiya asked. "I've seen her take on entire bottles of sake before that hardly slowed her down."

"Well wouldn't you say that she mostly drinks sake?" I asked.

"Yeah, that's right," he replied.

"Well sake typically has between 15 to 20% alcohol in it. She's used to drinking lots of it to get drunk. However in my world, there are many drinks with a higher count of alcohol in it. The gin in the first drink was at 60%. The rum in the second one was at 75.5%. The brandy in the third one had 40% but had the rum and gin in it as well. The fourth had bourbon at 74%. And the final one was the real deal, with two vodkas at 80 and 95%.

The set of cocktails is known as the Bastard on the Beach, but last night I made a little change. The original set is supposed to knock someone out but since I knew Tsunade was one experienced drinker, I knew the last drink had to be something special. So I made the final drink, originally named the Mai Tai but I renamed it 'The Ticket to Heaven', very strong. The Everclear is so strong it's illegal in some places.

The trick was to make each drink smooth. So she made the mistake of downing them quickly instead of taking one's time. Her body simply couldn't handle that much of an alcohol spike in that kind of time frame. So her body shut down in order to stop her from drinking more while her insides could start to work through all the alcohol. That's how I won," I explained, with Jiraiya and Shizune's eyes wide as saucers by the end of it.

"Don't worry, I don't plan on making her something like that ever again. That was made to knock her out and nothing else. Probably quite a few brain cells were sacrificed in the process but it was for a good cause. Anything else I make for her after this will be a lot more moderate. Unless she asks for the hard stuff," I grinned.

"Wait a minute, your world?" Shizune asked.

"Ahh crap," I growled. "That's another story for another time. Best wait for Tsunade to recover before explaining that. Probably tomorrow."

"It's something that needs to be told when one isn't worrying about other things, trust me," Jiraiya said.

"Uhh… ok," she replied, understanding that this was currently not the time.

"In the meantime, you," I pointed at Itachi. "I need to chat with you." I then lead the way to my room with him following. I opened the door and we went inside. I then pulled out several premade seals from one of my pockets and picked one out, slapping it onto the door. The seal flashed once.

"Now that Shizune can't snoop on us, I can chat openly with you Itachi. We need to give you a new name and then you need to make a decision about your eyes," I said.

"My eyes?" he asked.

"Yes, but first up is a name… … … uhh… how bout Noctis?" I asked.

"I don't recognise the name," he replied.

"It's a name that's used in my world. It means 'of the night'," I explained.

Itachi mouthed the name several times to practise before he nodded. I blinked. "That was quick. Guess I hit it on the head with that one. So from now onward your name will be Noctis Kitsuné, ok?" He nodded in conformation.

"Now your eyes. I had a chat with Ken when I was getting your clothes and he said that, while he can restore the sight in them, if you use Mangekyō at all, the regression will happen again and a lot faster than before. Probably only a few uses will put you into the same condition as you are in now. So I propose that the Sharingan should be removed permanently from your eyes and, if you wish, be switched out with a different ocular bloodline," I paused to see his reaction. He seemed to be taking it well, but you can never tell with Itachi. "If you need some time to think it over, then you can. In the meantime, you need to take one of these tablets per day." Here I threw him the bottle of pills I got from Nuro.

"What do they do?" he asked.

"They'll cure that illness you've been handling all these years. Turns out its lung cancer. Rare in this world. But just as deadly as in mine. But these tablets will treat and cure you. A friend of mine also has this disease and he's getting cured by the same way. You'll need to take one of these, each day, for three months before I get my doc to take a look at you to see if you need another batch," I explained.

"Thank you, Josh," he replied.

"You're very welcome, Noctis. I take care of my friends," I grinned, and was rewarded with a small smile from him. I then removed the seal and placed it back in my pocket before we left the room.

* * *

(Cue song Raw Material by Tsutchie from Samurai Champloo OST 2 – Masta)

As the next week leading up to the second showdown with Gayface went past, several things happened.

First up was naturally explaining who I was, past and present, my occupations (other than being Hokage; I wanted to surprise her) the truth about Dawn and all bijuu, my mission of bringing peace to the Elemental Countries with the help of Jiraiya and on countering anything Akatsuki does (or at least most as more research needed to be done on the little known Jinchūrikis before I could rescue them) and what her new role would entail. I'm not sure if it was the talk with Dan and Nawaki, but she was a lot calmer and reasonable with me then in the anime. She was even polite, most of the time. And she was quick to believe all the facts I laid out. Probably the biggest surprise was learning Dawn's true identity. And even then it was only moderate surprise.

After that day, she became a little more gentler, as a person. I told Jiraiya who was wondering why the change happened, that her talk with the two deceased must've had a huge impact. They were most likely watching her as she waded through life these past 20 odd years. And so they probably urged her to be nicer. I realised that I was oversimplifying it, but that was probably the gist of it.

This did not halt her drinking or gambling habits one bit. And she was still a mean drunk, her old personality slipping through the alcohol haze every time. But that was ok.

Her relationship with Jiraiya had also improved. While she still bashed his head in for saying perverted things about her to her face or punched him through a wall… or a house when he peeped on her, when he wasn't being a pervert she was actually smiling around him. And Jiraiya was very slowly edging away from perving on other girls and focusing his efforts on Tsunade. While this wasn't much of an improvement, at least his attention was on the busty blonde and not on others.

One of the things Dawn and I talked about was Hinata. It seemed she didn't hate me, or that she was too hung up on the death of Naruto. Which had me curious on why that was.

"Maybe she didn't have any feelings for him, other than simple friendship," Dawn replied.

"But then why does she stalk him?" I asked.

"Because it was Naruto's confidence that attracted Hinata's attention. She saw the kind of confidence she wished for inside Naruto. So she probably thought that by being close to him and observing him, she could understand how to get the same kind of confidents in herself that he had," she explained before she smiled knowingly at me. "But then you came along and actively helped her both physically and mentally. You took notice of the shy girl in the corner. Of course she would gain feelings for you from that."

I blinked. "Really?" I asked hopefully. She placed a hand on my shoulder. "I'm a woman, so I know these kind of things," she said.

"Right. You've got a point there. It's just that Hinata is just so damn cute and beautiful. No offence to you, but canonly, she was my favourite gal," I said, sounding nervous.

But Dawn simply smiled. "Remember, I want you to find other women and girls to love. You're the type of person who can easily love many girls and women, and that's rare. Most men think they can, but probably only 1 out of a million can pull it off. Naruto had that potential, and so do you." Here she looked a little confused. "But what do you mean by, 'canonly'?"

I sighed, glad she still thought that way. "Well canon for a series means details that stick to the true storyline. True as in what the author envisioned in his works. In the anime, you were not a woman. You were most probably a guy as you had a guy's voice when you spoke to Naruto. You as a smoking hot redhead only happened in works created by fans of the series. So when I say 'canonly' I mean that in the original story it was Hinata that was my favourite girl. But if I included popular differences that fans thought up, including myself, a female Kyuubi was always my number one gal."

"And 'Dawn'? Is that what the female Kyuubi was called?" she asked.

"No. That's just my favourite girl's name. It was the name of my imaginary dream girl," I replied in an embarrassed tone.

Dawn simply wrapped her arms around me and gave me a tight hug. "Thank you for giving me such a beautiful name," she replied softly.

I blinked in surprise before I closed my eyes and smiled as I returned the hug just as tightly. "You're very welcome."

The next change was finishing Noctis's new haircut. This time we went to a hairdresser's that had more skill than the previous one. I discussed the style I wanted and the guy got to work on it straight away. After an hour, he was finished and boy did Noctis look different.

His black hair now looked like Noctis Lucis Caelum's from Final Fantasy XV. Similar to Sasuke's own haircut, but more cool looking, the fringe was cut choppy to his eyebrows with a lock down the middle reaching halfway down the right side of his nose. The side bangs framing his face reached to his chin. Most of the front hair was flat and straight, if cut unevenly. However the top was cut shorter and slightly spiked outward. The back was cut just as short, but was fluffed out in small spikes.

Dawn was impressed at his new haircut, claiming that he was going to be super popular with the girls. I then snorted in laugher. "I would so love to see an Emo off between you and Sasuke. It would be so EPIC!" Dawn laughed at this.

Noctis tilted his head to the side. "But I'm not emo," he stated.

There was a long pause. "Well with that attitude, I don't see you winning anytime soon, Noctis," I grumbled.

(Cue song Koushu Kairiudo by Kajiura Yuki from Erementar Gerad OST 1)

And then the day arrived for the second showdown with Orochimaru. We had made our plans to deal with him ahead of time and privately I decided to start it canonly. Tsunade would pretend to agree and try to kill him. I knew it wouldn't work as either Kabuto or Orochimaru would catch on before she could strike. Jiraiya and I would use our different ways of invisibility to observe close by while Noctis, Dawn, Rex and Shizune observed some distance away. If, though I actually meant when, Tsunade failed, we would all regroup and prepare for Orochimaru's assault as he would still try to make Tsunade heal his arms even if she said no.

We now waited at the meeting point, each of us surrounding Tsunade at different points chosen by Rex, Dawn and Noctis. This was so we could stay out of sight and undetected by both of our targets. However I stayed right next to Tsunade since my cloak supressed all senses picking me up as long as I stayed relatively still.

We didn't have to wait long before snakeface appeared around a corner and walked to stand several meters way from Tsunade.

"Your answer?" Orochimaru asked.

There was a long pause before Tsunade turned to face him. "I will cure your arms," she replied.

Orochimaru blinked. "You look different from a week before. Something good happen?"

"Something like that," she replied. The two then walked towards each other and Orochimaru slowly raised his arms up towards Tsunade. In turn she began to gather a large amount of chakra in her hands. But the process was interrupted by a flying kunai that struck the ground just inches from where Tsunade was standing a millisecond ago. The two skidded away from each other as Kabuto was seen on the rooftop next to them. Both glared at him as he back flipped over to a spot a few meters behind Orochimaru.

"What's this? You've betrayed me at the last second, Tsunade," Orochimaru hissed angrily as his eyes glared at her.

I then turned off the stealth from my sword and dismissed it quickly. I looked at Orochimaru, whose eyes bulged in fury at seeing me. "Actually Orochi old boy, she made her decision a long time ago." At that moment, Jiraiya dismissed his own cloak of invisibility and the four others appeared behind us in a flash of speed.

"You! How did you know I was here?!" Orochimaru asked in confusion and anger.

"This move was predictable. You had no idea what I did to your arms, so you came to the only person capable of healing them, your ex-teammate and fellow Sanin, Tsunade the Slug Princess," I replied.

His eyes narrowed at how simple my explanation for his plan was. But then he sighed. "I really did intend on bringing them back, Tsunade."

I opened my mouth to retort but Tsunade brought up her hand to stop me. I then realised that she needed to do this herself.

"In the beginning I was willing to do it… I wanted to see them again… to feel them… to see their smiles once more," Tsunade replied. "But then… this man made me realise something very important. He made me realise that I've been a fool all these years!" By now tears were leaking out of her eyes. It seemed that this was just the edge of the pain and loneliness she had felt throughout all these years. I glanced to see that Jiraiya made no movement to comfort her, though his hands were clenched tightly, seeming to share her pain. "Just remembering their smiles blinded me. But Josh woke me up." I scratched a spot under my nose that always itched when I felt embarrassed when taking credit for something. "He reminded me that the dead need to stay dead. And that, even though my feelings for them won't lessen over time, I needed to move on with my life."

There was a pause as I walked up to her and squeezed her shoulder. "You're not alone anymore," I said. Jiraiya also walked up to her and placed a hand on her other shoulder. She looked up at him and he smiled kindly. "Josh is right. We're here for you." She smiled back.

"It seems the negotiations have broken down then," Orochimaru said quietly. "I have no choice then. I will have to ask you by force now."

Tsunade wiped her eyes before locking them with Orochimaru's own. "Let me handle him. It's my responsibility as one of the Sanin," she said.

"Kay. But as soon as things get dicey, we'll move in," I replied.

"Josh!" Jiraiya began to protest but I cut him off.

"Believe and trust in her, Jiraiya," I said. He paused before nodding. However it seemed that Orochimaru had other plans.

"Don't think you're getting off that easy!" he growled before Kabuto took out a scroll, unfurled it and streamed chakra into it. There was a large cloud of smoke and out charged a dark shape with many tentacles and a gaping, wide maw filled with teeth.

(Cue song Escape in Style by Lorne Balfe from Assassin's Creed 3 Original Game Soundtrack)

"Oh shit!" I cried out in surprise as I stared down a fricking Malboro. But not just any Malboro. This one was dark blue with silver markings. "Malboro Menace!"

"A what?" Noctis asked.

"Nasty and strong demon. We need to kill it fast before-" I began but was too late as the demon was opening its mouth. "SCATTER! NOW!" I roared.

"Why?" Tsunade asked as she and Shizune looked at the monster in confusion, but Jiraiya, Noctis and Rex were already darting away from the menace. Without any time to spare, I Ki Stepped to Tsunade and Stepped away while Dawn grabbed Shizune and used Youki to supercharge themselves away. And not a second too late too, as at that precise moment, the Malboro released its breath, sending a large cloud of nasty green gas out across the grass. Thankfully we all were out of the cloud of death's reach in time.

"What the hell!?" Tsunade squawked in surprise to me as I had wrapped my arm around her waist before teleporting ourselves out of reach.

"If I didn't do it…" I replied before pointing at the remains of what the cloud left behind as it began to disappear. What was left was a large patch of black gunk that was eating away at anything it touched. "You would be melting flesh and bones right about now."

"What…?" she whispered in shock.

"It's a demon, and a powerful one at that. I'll do my best to distract it from you while you go for Orochimaru, ok?" I explained.

"…uh… yeah, ok," she replied, a little hesitantly, still watching the black gunk melt everything in its path.

I then Ki Stepped some distance away from Tsunade, took out a couple of shruiken and threw them at the Malboro. "Hey, bitch! Over here!" I called out. The weapons hit the monster and it turned to face me before slowly wiggling its way over.

"I really don't like these things," I muttered before Jiraiya, Noctis, Dawn and Rex met up with me.

"Another demon?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yeah. It's a Malboro Menace. If my info on it is still accurate, it has a few techniques. The one we just witnessed is called Putrid Breath. I'm sure I don't have to explain what will happen if that gas cloud touches you. It also spits acid from its eyes. Best to stay out of its range and use ranged attacks," I explained. "If you need to get in close, use Kage Bunshin." I then looked over at Tsunade, who was starting her attack against Kabuto. "We can't spend too long with this guy. Tsunade will need our help."

"Don't underestimate her," Jiraiya said.

"I'm not, but unless she's gotten over her mental scarring from the past when I wasn't looking, she's going to freeze up soon," I replied.

"You mean…"

(Cue song HARMONIZE by DJ Shinya from Soul Eater Original Soundtrack 1)

"Yeah. Now, let's dust this bitch first, shall we? It's weak to fire so Katon jutsus are the way to go. But don't do Suiton jutsus on it. It'll absorb the jutsu and heal itself with it."

Jiraiya started the party off with **Katon: Endan no Jutsu** and fired off a few oil ignited bullets at the Malboro, which impacted dead on. While effective, it did little to slow it down, despite the burning oil sticking to its skin.

Noctis was next, firing a giant **Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu** at the demon. This had more of an effect but still the Malboro shook it off.

"Stand aside ladies, this is how you do a fire jutsu," Dawn grinned as she stepped up to the plate. "**Katon: Goryuka no Jutsu!**" She then fired several massive dragon head shaped fireballs at the monster, creating large explosions in the process. But still the Malboro continued to advance, though it was certainly looking a little worse for wear.

"I guess it's my turn," I began but the Malboro had other plans by spitting several streams of acid at us. We scattered and as I was doing so, I saw Rex enlarge himself and firing a blast of foxfire at the Malboro, distracting it. I then flipped through the seals and called out, "**Yakeruton: Neutron Fireball!**" I blew out a blue fireball which roared toward the Malboro and exploded on impact, sending up a very large explosion. This time the Malboro didn't move again. The light blue flames burned away at the flesh.

"I think it's dead," I sighed. "Good thing I knew its weakness otherwise this battle would've been way harder." I then looked at Tsunade, who was trying to heal herself and Kabuto was just about to come down onto her with a kunai in the hopes that her fear of blood would paralyse her. In that instant I Ki Stepped in front of her and planted my foot into Kabuto's stomach, kicking him backwards. "You shouldn't strike the elderly. It's rude," I drawled at him as the others caught up with me, surrounding Tsunade.

"Good to see you again, Jiraiya," Orochimaru called out, focusing on his old teammate.

"You have evil looking eyes as usual," Jiraiya grinned in return.

I then faked ignorance and looked at Kabuto closely. "You look somewhat familiar, have I kicked your ass before?" He simply gritted his teeth in anger. "Aww, did I hurt your feewlings?" I asked with a baby lisp, making Dawn chuckle. I then blinked as I then remembered the deal I made with Noctis. 'If I'm keeping Sasuke in the village, then he won't go to Orochimaru, and all that business with Kabuto going all white snake and using that very dirty Impure World Resurrection 2.0 technique, doesn't have to happen. Then that means…' I then Ki Stepped behind him and tried to behead him, but he was able to notice me and duck out of the way before frantically putting some distance between us. "I can kill you," I finished my thoughts aloud.

"You defeated that demon I summoned a lot quicker then I planned. Clearly I shouldn't underestimate you anymore. My arms were the price. I won't do that again," Orochimaru said evenly. "Kabuto, make sure he doesn't interfere."

"Hai, Orochimaru-sama," the silver haired spy acknowledged. Before he turned to face me. "Despite knowing some interesting techniques, you're still just a cute Genin who's out of place. It's true we expected something from the monster inside of you, but with legendary Sannin members around me, you are insignificant to me. You're like a small bug right now and if you interfere, I'll kill you."

Clearly the guy was thinking he was dealing with an inexperienced Genin, and if I was Naruto 100%, then he would be right. But he wasn't. However I wasn't going to tell him that. My best chance to kill him would be by taking him by surprise. I then eyed Orochimaru as Kabuto asked him to remove the bandages on his arm. While I wanted to use everything I had to remove him from the picture permanently now that Sasuke wasn't going to defect to him and so I wouldn't have to deal with that headache later, I knew that his cursed seals were the key to keeping himself alive. It was like a Naruto version of using the Horcruxes from the Harry Potter books. I needed to purge Sasuke's and Anko's seals first before moving in full force against Orochimaru and the Sound Village.

At that moment Kabuto swiped blood across Orochimaru's summoning tattoo on his arm and summoned two giant brown snakes, which immediately began to bear down onto us.

"Go Jiraiya! You take Orochimaru! I'll handle Kabuto!" I ordered. He nodded before speeding through a set of seals and summoning Gamaken, who immediately blocked Orochimaru's strike with the Sakazuki shield and then used his sasumata to push the snake off him. The two then became locked in a power struggle, and while this happened, Jiraiya and Orochimaru began to battle.

Meanwhile I used Ki Step to flash behind Kabuto and kicked him squarely in the back, sending him tumbling down toward the ground. However he recovered and landed on his feet.

"What is that technique you use? It's no Shunshin," Kabuto asked, breathing hard from the previous strike.

"Wouldn't you like to know," I replied with a smirk, making Kabuto growl angrily. "What? Can't take your own tactic thrown back in your face? You tried to anger me by saying I was a simple Genin. But that didn't work, and now you're falling for the same tactic."

"Shut up. You know nothing," he replied through clenched teeth.

"I know everything there is to know about you. I know about Nono, about your time in the ROOT organization, and Danzo's betrayal," I said, and watched in glee as his eyes widened in great surprise.

"How…?" he asked.

"You'll never find out, even if you're about to die," I replied. Here Kabuto snorted. "Me? Die? I think you've got things reversed, don't you?"

In turn I held out my hand and formed a Rasengan, but this one continued to grow and I raised it above my head until the ball was as big as I was tall. The intense wind this jutsu generated made my haori whip strongly around me. Unknown to me, the jutsu had pulled everyone's attention away from what they were doing to see me.

I then looked directly at Kabuto. "I think I got it right. The only thing that remains is… do you feel lucky punk? Well do you?" I then flashed behind him and slammed the jutsu into him.

"**Mega Rasengan!**" I roared out as the jutsu sped away, carrying Kabuto with it, where it detonated in a large explosion about 50 meters away, leaving a deep trench in its wake.

When the dust settled, Kabuto was seen completely torn apart. If he was still alive, he would not last for long. Evidently Orochimaru realised that too as he abandoned his fight with Jiraiya and landed next to Kabuto's prone and bloody body. "It seemed that Kabuto also made the mistake of underestimating you. I will have to take you seriously, the next time we meet." At this point the two began to quickly sink into the ground.

I growled angrily. "Run all you want Orochimaru, I'll find you eventually, and end you permanently!" All I got in return was a classic Orochimaru smirk from him before he completely disappeared.

I then took a deep breath and stretched a bit. "Well, that went well," I muttered to myself.


	29. Chapter 29: First Day on the Job

**Chapter 29: First Day on the Job**

"So, you remember your promise?" I asked.

"Yeah, yeah. Become the new head of HG, right?" Tsunade replied.

"You got it."

"So was there any reason on why we let Orochimaru and Kabuto escape?" Jiraiya asked.

"Two reasons, actually. The first is that we need to plan very carefully to take him down. Make it as airtight as possible. And one way to make sure of that is to either kill everyone with a Cursed Seal of Heaven or remove the seal from them," I replied.

"Why?"

"Because some of Orochimaru's chakra is injected into each seal he makes. This not only ensures the eventual takeover of the body the seal is on, but adds a little insurance in case someone kills him. As long as just one of the little suckers remains active, even if it's sealed itself, there's a chance of Orochimaru being revived. That's why removing it or killing anyone with one is vital. As far as I know, only two people have it; Anko Mitarashi and Sasuke Uchiha."

"What? Sasuke has a cursed seal?" Noctis asked sharply.

"Yeah, happened in the second part of the Chunin Exam. I probably could've stopped the application of the seal, but I knew that if I did stop him, Orochimaru wouldn't give up and would just strike when I was unprepared for it. So I'd rather remove the seal and him not knowing, then deal with the unknown. Unless there's an actual link between the chakra in the seal and Orochimaru." I then turned to Jiraiya. "Could that be the case? If I manage to remove the seal, would Orochimaru know the moment it happens?"

The toad sage rubbed his chin with his thumb and pointer. "I'm not sure. Close range, maybe. I took a look at Anko's seal at one point, but after sealing it, I didn't think it would pose much of a problem. That and I had no idea on how to remove it. You're saying you do?"

"Maybe. A member of my clan named Jugo was the origins of the Cursed Seals of Heaven and Earth. Jugo has two personalities; on the one side he's a gentle man who hates to fight, and on the other he's a bloodthirsty maniac. It's as bipolar as you can get. I was able to seal his evil side by overpowering it with my youki. Perhaps a similar process will work for the cursed seals," I replied.

"A massive amount of chakra would be needed for something like that," Jiraiya noted.

"Youki is at least three times more potent than chakra. I'm confident that I can break both Anko's prototype and Sasuke's perfected seal," I smiled.

"By the way, is it true that Orochimaru invaded Konoha about three weeks ago?" Shizune asked.

"Yep, but thanks to me and my friends, we were able to organise a successful defence with no casualties and only a small amount of collateral damage to buildings and such. Probably the biggest thing that happened was part of the wall coming down," I replied.

"That big wall?" she blinked in surprise.

"Orochimaru's summoned snakes are fairly big. And Manda is even bigger."

"You know of Manda?" Tsunade asked in shock.

"Of course. Remember who you're talking to, blondie," I replied with a cheeky smirk.

"Oh, right," she replied, a little sheepish.

"You'll get used to it," Jiraiya said with a grin of his own.

"And hey! Don't call me blondie!" Tsunade threatened with a fist.

I grinned back. "Be grateful I ain't calling you Obasan instead. If I was fully Naruto, you'd have to put up with that every time he would address you."

She blinked before nodding, "Good point."

It took us just as long to get back to the village as it did getting to Tanzaku. As soon as I was brought back, I was whisked away by Koharu and Homura, saying that I had to get ready for my inauguration.

"What? Already?" I asked, suddenly nervous.

"Jiraiya sent a message ahead telling us that you were on your way back with Tsunade," Koharu said as she bustled me into a changing room inside the Hokage Tower somewhere. I had no idea where I was.

"Almost everyone is here," a voice said from outside the changing room, to which I recognised as Jiraiya.

"Damnit Jiraiya! Don't you think you could've given me some warning before we entered the village?" I yelled.

"We all need a bit of unpredictability in our lives," he replied smoothly.

"I'll get you back for this," I growled softly.

"Hurry! Get changed," Homura said before he closed the door.

I looked around to see a wardrobe opposite the door. I walked over and opened it, gasping softly when I saw the contents.

"It's the Hokage's haori…" I said, looking at it. I remember thinking how cool Minato looked in it. I only hoped that I looked just as cool in it as he did. So I took off my own haori and hung it on the rack before taking the Hokage's cloak out and putting it on.

"Wow… I do look good in it," I muttered as I checked myself out in the full body mirror that was attached to the inside of the wardrobe's door. I twisted a few times to either side to see as many angles as I could before taking my old coat and sealing it into one of my sealing scrolls.

"Hokage-sama, are you ready?" Homura's voice asked from outside the door.

I quickly ran my fingers through my hair, trying and failing to smooth it out. "Yeah… I guess," I replied. The door opened and I turned to see Jiraiya standing in the door.

He blinked before smiling nostalgically. "You really do look similar to Minato. It's almost freaky."

"Cept for the white streaks, eh?" I grinned. He chuckled in response.

"So what do I do? Do I need to make a speech?" I asked nervously.

"Yeah, a speech basically saying that you'll protect Konoha with your life annnnd, blah blah blah," he replied.

"Joy," I muttered sarcastically. I never liked public speaking.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine. If necessary, myself and a few other guys are ready to back you up in case it gets nasty," the toad sage assured me.

"I think you can tick that off as being inevitable. They won't be seeing me. They'll be seeing Naruto and the one they feel is responsible for the attack on Konoha 14 years ago," I replied.

"Then maybe you need to tell them who you really are."

"That's a sure fire way to let Orochimaru know. I might as well knock on his front door and confess to him." I sighed. "Well, at least the villager's logic in their reasoning against me is seriously flawed. I'll be able to poke several holes in their argument."

"And we'll be by your side the whole time. And by that I mean a meter behind you. This is _your_ inauguration after all," Jiraiya grinned.

And with that I was escorted out of the dressing room and up to the roof of the Hokage Mansion. I stood to the back, waiting to be called to the front. I couldn't see the people gathered in front of the mansion, but I sure as hell could hear them. It sounded like everyone in the village was down there. I gulped heavily, wishing Dawn was there to give me a comforting hug.

"Citizens of Konoha! Recently our city was attacked by Orochimaru and the Sound Village. In the process our Hokage was wounded in battle. While he lives, he named his successor and has stepped down from the position of Fire Shadow once again," Koharu called out, using a microphone to extend her voice to everyone.

"You have been gathered here today to witness the coronation of the new leader of Konohagakure no Sato. Citizens of the Leaf Village, I present to you, the Fifth Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto!" Here I walked forward and stood at the edge of the roof with my hands resting lightly on the metal railing, with Jiraiya, Koharu, Yùgao with her ANBU Mask on and Homura flanking behind me.

I gulped hard again as I nervously looked at all the people in Konoah village and heard an angry buzz sweep through the crowd, and it wasn't coming from the Aburames. Well, most of them. I scanned the crowd and spotted familiar faces. Hinata, Kiba, Ino, Sakura, Neji, Shikamaru, Asuma, Kurenai, Zabuza, Kakashi, Trunks and Dawn just to name a few. I also saw the many scowls and faces that showed a dozen different negative emotions on them. Not just the older generation, but more than half of the younger generation as well.

'Well, it seems I've got my work cut out for me,' I sighed mentally as some of those older people began to cry out in outrage at the choice of the new Hokage. If I didn't do something to placate these people, a riot would probably spark out soon.

"I know that most of you know who I am… or at least, they think they do," I began.

"We know exactly _what_ you are," one woman yelled at me, skirting around the law that Hiruzen had placed.

"What? That I'm the Kyuubi incarnate?" I asked, drawing a loud gasp from most of the crowd. There was a stunned silence that followed, as if the crowd didn't know how to respond to that.

"Well then, shall we look at the evidence? What makes you think that I'm the Kyuubi?" I asked civilly.

"The Yondaime sacrificed his life to change you into that form!" an old man called angrily.

"You have any proof?" I asked.

Only silence followed.

"There is some truth to that. The Yondaime did sacrifice his life. But it was to seal the Kyuubi into me, not turn it into a human baby. That notion is just absurd. You'd have to be high on crack or a complete moron to believe that. Sealing is something much more practical since the Fourth was a master of sealing," I said.

"So you admit to being the Kyuubi!" another person in the crowd accused.

"Didn't you hear what I just said? Cause then you need a new set of ears my friend, cause I definitely didn't say that. I said _sealed_, not 'I am the Kyuubi', dumbass," I replied. There was a small amount of laughter at that.

"Now, do you trust the Fourth's sealing ability?"

There were various nods at this.

"Then why would you doubt his sealing abilities with this then? It seems to me that a lot of the rumours you have about me is based on misinformation fed by people who have a grudge against the Kyuubi and figure the best way they're going to get back at it is by attacking its prison.

Well let me tell you a few facts. First fact; if I was the Kyuubi incarnate, I would've blown this village away the first chance I got. You might then think that maybe the Kyuubi's powers were diminished or taken away. But that still would've left its mind. And a fox is very cunning. If this was the case, I would've used my mind to turn all of you in favour of me a long time ago. I would've manipulated my way into being adopted by either the Huygas or the Uchihas.

And yet, for these past 14 years, the worst thing I've done to any of you is a harmless prank. I didn't kill. I didn't maul anyone. I didn't give anyone physical pain, except perhaps a few ruptured eardrums from the times when I screamed out that I was going to become Hokage, believe it," I grinned. A few people laughed at this.

"And yet, I was given pain, and lots of it. 472 fractured bones. 233 broken jaws. 70 lung punctures. 47 broken legs. 32 cracked skulls. 28 times of internal bleeding. 20 ruptured arteries. 15 cases of third degree burns. And 4 times of death. That's what you've put me through." Here I was silent as I watched everyone. Some were crying. Others were on the verge of doing so. Some were disgusted. Some were horrified. Some were ashamed. But only a small handful of people were proud. And they were all older people.

"But you know what?" I asked and the silence was so quiet, I probably could've heard a pin drop at the South Gate. I then spread out my arms and smiled gently at them all. "I forgive you." Several soft gasps of surprise were heard at this.

"I forgive you for cursing at me. I forgive you for throwing rotten eggs at me. I forgive you for the time when you stabbed me 34 times with a kitchen knife. I forgive you for the wildly inflated prices. I forgive you for denying me buying food. I forgive you for setting me on fire. I forgive you for making your kids believe that I was a bad person. I forgive you for spitting on me. I forgive you for threatening me. I forgive you for booby-trapping my old apartment with acid. I forgive you for all the harsh words you said and the actions you took."

By now, almost everyone was crying in some form. Even those who looked proud at their deeds looked unsure of their actions now.

"Know this. I pledge my life to you. I will do all that I can to make this village a better place to live and safer for everyone. I strive for peace with the other nations of the Elemental Countries, but anyone who threatens us will be shown that we will not back down without a fight. For we are Konoha. The Hidden Village in the Leaves," I finished up and my eyes widened as I received a thunderous cheer in return. Almost everyone was wildly cheering for me as I looked around. But soon the crowd began to settle into a loud chant.

"**Godaime! Godaime! Godaime! Godaime! Godaime!"**

* * *

I collapsed onto the couch in my lounge room and sighed loudly. After I had gained the crowd's favour, I began to tell them a few other things. Such as the fact that 'evidence suggested that Kyuubi was a guardian for the Fire Country and that a very powerful genjutsu was cast on it and the caster used Kyuubi as a weapon against Konoha'. Phrasing it as 'evidence suggested' made it seem as if this information was pulled from multiple sources. While they didn't completely believe that, they were willing to play the devil's advocate until my information was proven false. This was more than I thought I was going to get and so I happily took it.

The next bit of news was that I had gained the Fox Summoning contract, which used to be in the hands of the Kyuubi before it was sealed inside of me, which then transferred the contract to me when I hit 14 years old. While not a complete lie, the village accepted this as it explained the armoured foxes helping defend the village in the invasion.

Then I told the masses that I had persuaded Tsunade Senju to return to Konoha and take over as the Head Doctor for Konoha General Hospital. This was met with a very warm reception as people were glad to see Tsunade back with Konoha. I then explained that she would be setting up a class to teach a few special people the arts of medical jutsu, in the hopes of one day having dedicated medical ninjas in each squad to decrease vitality rates. The people were pleased with this.

And finally I announced my name change and the name of my new clan. I explained the name change as a way of renewing myself and starting fresh. They bought it.

By now I was feeling a little drained so with a quick look at Jiraiya, I excused myself.

"Man, I can't believe guilt tripping the villages worked. Thinking it is one thing, but putting it into practice is a whole nuther ball game," I sighed before yawning. "Maybe I can get a bit of sleep before the others get home."

Unfortunately Lady Luck decided to flat out ignore my request with the arrival of my entire clan. I moaned and whined and tossed about on the couch as they filtered into the room.

"Nice job!" Dawn said as she sat down next to my head and pulled me onto her lap.

"Mmm, thanks. I was hoping for some people to change their minds about me, but I didn't expect to get a home run of sorts," I replied.

"So now what's going to happen?" Kin asked.

"Well we've got a reprieve from anything major for the moment. There's a mission coming up where I'll need Haku to come with me, but that's sometime this month. Shouldn't come across it for at least a week," I replied.

"What's the mission?" Haku asked curiously.

"Well it's in Snow Country which is why I'll need your help. Big battle there. How wide an area can you create your demonic mirror dome?"

"Uhh… I dunno. You asking for it to be used for a defensive purpose?" he asked.

"Yep. About 200 meters in diameter and thick enough to stand up to 10,000 kunai being thrown at it all over within a span of about 2 minutes," I replied.

"200… uhh, I don't think I'm that strong," he replied nervously.

"Not to worry. I'll summon Shiva to help you."

"In that case… with the extra help… I think I can do it, since I'll be working with existing ice," he replied confidently.

"Nice. I wonder how many people will try to manipulate me, thinking I'm young and inexperienced," I asked, more to myself.

"If they do, we'll cut them down to size," Zabuza grinned.

"No doubt," I replied with a sleepy smile. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm exhausted. Can you hold any more questions until tomorrow?"

"Sure thing," Trunks said.

"Thank you…" I mumbled before I closed my eyes and was quickly out like a light.

* * *

I became aware of a wonderful warmth and sent as my senses began to slowly return. I opened my eyes to see a sleeping Dawn next to me. We were in our bed and the sun was shining through the window.

'I wonder who carried me to bed,' I wondered before shifting into a sitting position. I looked around for my iPhone and checked the time. It was 9:04AM.

"Morning, huh. Guess I was quite tired. Good thing there were leftovers for the guys to eat last night while I was sleeping," I said to myself.

"Talking to yourself is the first sign of becoming crazy, you know," a gentle voice said and I turned to see Dawn gazing at me, still laying on her side.

"Only if you're referring to yourself either in the third person or talking to an alter ego of yourself. Stating things isn't counted," I grinned. "Besides, we're all a little nuts in our own ways."

"By the way, you got a message soon after you fell asleep yesterday. A reporter from Fire TIME wants to interview the newest and youngest Hokage," she replied.

"An interview?" I asked.

"Yep. Said they'd be by around midday today," she confirmed.

"Guess I'd better get ready then," I sighed as I swung out of bed and stood up. I did a few preliminary stretches before heading for the shower.

10 minutes later I was out and dressing in a pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt. If I was going to be interviewed, at least I would make sure to be comfortable. I stared at the Hokage robes that hung in my wardrobe. "It's going to be a while before I get used to seeing those clothes in my wardrobe," I said to Dawn as she entered the shower herself.

"You weren't expecting being called as Hiruzen's successor, were you?" she called back over the sound of the shower.

I walked back into the shower and sat on the toilet seat. "Yeah, it surprised me alright. I was fully expecting Tsunade to become the Godaime and me becoming Chunin maybe? I still don't think I've earned the promotion leap."

"Hey! No more of that!" she scolded and I blinked as this was the first time she had said something in that tone to me. I then smiled as I realised that our relationship was deepening. She was comfortable with telling me off and I was comfortable with her doing so. Weird, I know, but that was the feeling I got.

"Well I guess I need to do something to make me feel like I've earned it or at least making Konoha a better place," I replied before the shower door opened and Dawn walked out. My eyes drunk in her image as she began to dry herself off, something I would never get tired of looking at.

"You've already done something. You succeeded in countering Orochimaru's assault with no casualties and little damage to structures," she said.

"Yeah…" I replied distractedly as I continued to ogle my lover as she finished drying off and slipped on a pair of lacy purple underwear and a purple plain style bra. She eventually took notice of the lack of a decent reply and looked at me, realising that I was admiring the view. She then posed sexily and that got an instant rise outta junior.

"Damnit," I sighed as I slapped a hand to my face. "Now I'm gonna have a hard on for the rest of the day."

"Well, I'm sure I can help you out," she smiled as she walked over. I grasped her waist and began to rub my hands over her ass as I hugged her close, pressing my face into her breasts. I also glided my hands up and down the back of her thighs and she gently gripped my upper arms and shoulders lovingly.

She then got down on her knees and I palmed her breasts in her bra. Such a perfect shape. In turn she undid the zip on my jeans and began to stroke my dick gently. I started to squeeze her boobs and she responded with a light but audible intake of breath. I ran my fingers under the shape and into her balanced cleavage, enjoying the feeling of her skin. I found where her nipples were under the bra and I pinched them, eliciting a soft gasp.

I pulled her forward and kissed her deeply while she pressed my dick into her warm cleavage. It was just for a moment though as she lowered herself more and began to kiss my member. She kissed the tip before she opened her mouth and I shuddered at the feeling of her hot breath on the tip before the better feeling of her moist mouth engulfed my penis.

She started very slow, clamping down on as much of the length as she could get in and slowly backed off, her lips dragging over the skin and muscle before reaching the tip. She then quickly went back down before repeating the same slow movement while trailing her fingertips across my crotch where, if I was still human, would've been where my pubic hairs were. For me, it was a divine feeling as I weaved my hands into her rich red hair.

By now my cock was fully hardened and I had a lot of stress to rid from the past 2 weeks. She continued the slow movements and I felt myself getting harder as I watched her lips glide over my dick. The simple sight was half the pleasure for me. She then began to suck on the tip, the tip of her tongue dancing around the underside and tickling the hole at the top. I moaned in pleasure and she grinned up at me before she began again, but this time at a faster pace.

She used her hand as well to continue stimulating the parts were her mouth wasn't covering. This feeling was driving me close and she knew it from how my dick was throbbing and getting bigger. She then tried to do something that she never did before. She tried to deep throat me. However it didn't work and she gagged before withdrawing and continued as she had before.

But that was enough for me as my body stiffened and I grunted loudly as I released into her mouth. She, in turn held the tip in her mouth and continued to stroke me with her hand as my seed spurted into her mouth for a brief moment before slowing down. She closed her lips around the tip and sucked to get the rest of it out and I cried out from the pleasure spike, my hands gripping the sides of the toilet hard. She released me but a small amount of cum was released from me. She licked it up and gripped my dick in a tight squeeze, seeing if there was any more. When none came she smiled and kissed the tip before she swallowed the cum in her mouth.

I sighed loudly and pulled Dawn up to sit her on my lap. "Thanks babe. I needed that," I smiled.

"Sorry I couldn't deep throat. I've never been able to do it before," she replied, a little sad.

"Doesn't matter. As long as I have you, nothing else matters," I replied and hugged her close. She responded in kind, wrapping her arms around me.

* * *

After the exciting and sexually stimulating 15 minutes in the bathroom, we finally made it to the kitchen, where a few members of the clan were fixing breakfast. Haku was making bacon and eggs and was doing a good job with them.

"Good morning Josh-sama," Haku greeted.

"Haku, please, drop the sama bit. I ain't your superior," I sighed in reply.

"Well, technically-" Trunks began.

"You can shove your technicalities thanks," I glared without meaning. He just grinned in response.

"So, did Dawn tell you about the reporter?" Suigetsu asked.

"Yeah, she did. Midday, right?"

"It's now 9:40, just so you know," Kin added.

"Thank you Kin," I replied in a slightly sarcastic tone. I then turned to Dawn. "Did this reporter say they'd come by the mansion or the Hokage office?"

"By the office," she replied.

"Hey Josh, who's the new guy by the way?" Zabuza asked as he pointed his thumb at the ex-Uchiha.

"His name is Noctis and he's the newest member of my clan," I replied, deciding that now he was no longer Itachi, there was no reason to tell everyone of his past. Noctis nodded at me, silently thanking me for not elaborating.

"Welcome Noctis," Jugo said with a smile, the other clan members adding their greetings.

"Thank you everyone," he replied with a small smile, something that looked to becoming less of a rarity.

"So, what happened while I was away?" I asked as Haku dealt out the food.

"Well the repairs on the wall is finished," Zabuza informed.

"That was quick," I replied.

"Yeah, well, since there was so little collateral damage, most of the workforce could focus on the hole in the wall," Karin replied. "What are you going to do first as Hokage?"

"Dunno, but I want Danzo out of the picture. So I'll get Zulu squad on digging up some serious dirt on him as well as evidence on what I already know he's done," I replied seriously. "As soon as Danzo is gone I'll replace Koharu and that other guy whose name I keep forgetting as my advisors. One will be Hiruzen and the other will most likely be Jiraiya." I then began to eat and hummed in content at the taste. "Nice job Haku. You'll make some girl a happy wife… or since you're so girly, maybe a lucky husband?" I grinned.

"No no, I'm not gay," he replied without a twitch.

"I guess you get that question often," I replied. Haku simply smiled in reply. "Well in any case, nice job on the food. Thanks."

"You're welcome Josh-sama," he replied.

I sighed. "If you don't stop saying the sama bit, I'm going to start calling you Haku-chan," I mock threatened, not really expecting that was going to have an impact. Then I heard Zabuza snort and the demon twins chuckle. I looked up from my food to see the three grinning and Haku frozen with an embarrassed blush on his face. "That's actually going to work?" I asked in bewilderment.

"Sure will. Haku hates being called chan," Mizu grinned.

"But normally he'll threaten us somehow with ice if we do so," Gozu added.

"So we're going to set up a pool on how long you'll last. I'm betting 10 times you can call him that before he snaps since I have faith in you," Zabuza said with a wide smile.

"Ten times is having faith in me?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I say 4 times," Mizu added.

"5 times for me," Gozu said.

"Does that answer your question?" Zabuza asked.

"Yeah, yeah," I sighed, eating the rest of breakfast in silence.

* * *

I walked into the office, still wearing my jeans and white shirt, but now the Hokage robes were on top of them, though I didn't bother with the hat. Inside the office were three ANBU, all of which I recognised; Yùgao, Dragon and Yamato, or Tenzo if you preferred.

"Morning friends," I greeted friendly.

"Hokage-sama, we're here to watch over you," Yùgao said.

"Bodyguards, eh? Well that's good cause I'm certainly not Hokage level in terms of experience or power. So I'm glad to have you guys here," I replied before grinning widely. "However, from now on, I want you to address me not as Hokage-sama, but as Your Awesomeness!"

There was a moment of silence before Tenzo broke it. "Uhh… Hokage-"

"Ahh!" I interrupted him with a pointed finger before waiting expectantly. There was another long pause before he sighed. "Your Awesomeness…" he said.

I smiled at him and nodded. "Yes?" I asked.

"Were you notified of the reporter from Fire TIME arriving soon for an interview?" he asked.

"Yes I was," I nodded.

"Aren't you a little too casually dressed?" Yùgao asked.

"Nope," I replied with a cheeky grin.

There was another long pause before a soft knock on the door broke the silence. I nodded to the ANBU and they used a jutsu to become invisible.

"Guess that means I can't have sex in the office without being seen then," I said to them and I grinned when I heard three embarrassed coughs in response. "Come in," I called out as I walked to the chair. Before I sat down I looked to see who it was.

Koharu and that other guy walked in.

'Joy…' I mentally thought sarcastically. "What can I do for you two?" I asked as I sat in the chair and sighed in content as I found out just how comfy it was.

"We're here to advice you, Hokage-sama," Hokaru said in that condescending tone she had in the anime.

"I'm sorry, but my most recent order is that I be addressed as Your Awesomeness, not Hokage-sama," I replied evenly.

"E-excuse me?" she asked, slightly taken off guard.

"Oh, I see," I replied, putting on a sympathetic façade. I then cupped my hands around my mouth and repeated, "I'M TO BE ADDRESSED AS 'YOUR AWESOMENESS', NOT HOKAGE-SAMA!" loudly.

"I… I know what you said! I'm not deaf!" Koharu growled.

"Coulda fooled me with that first response," I muttered. "So you're here to advise me, are you? What on?"

"First is your attire. A Hokage must look respectable as a ninja and so he needs to wear the Jōnin outfit underneath the robes," the other guy said.

"Well, I never made it to Chunin, much less Jōnin. So I don't have the sexy jacket yet," I replied with a smile.

"Not to worry. We had one specially commissioned for you," Koharu said and she waved in a Chunin carrying what looked like a standard Jōnin jacket. No doubt it had all sorts of hidden bugs and listening devices on it though.

"You know, I think I'm fine with the way I'm dressed at the moment," I replied.

"But wearing the outfit is tradition," the other guy said firmly.

"Well then, I guess there are going to be a few changes around here then," I smiled but my eyes were hard. What I saw was the two unsure at how to proceed with this defiance. "What? You thought that you could come in here and mould me to whatever you wanted me to be? Well think again. Now off you go. I don't need any advising today."

The two just stood there in shock.

"Your leader just asked you to leave the room. Will you do so, or do I need to have the nice ANBU to escort you from the premises?" I asked civilly. At this point the three ANBU revealed themselves and stood there, waiting.

There was a lengthy pause. "As you command, Hokage-sama," Homura said tonelessly. My eyes narrowed as he had deliberately not chosen to call me by what I had ordered. The two then left the room.

"I need to do something about them soon or else things will get complicated, fast," I muttered before I flipped through the summoning seals and focused on a certain image. Then, in a poof of smoke, stood Captain Yamu.

"Captain, I have a job for you," I said.

"Commander," he replied with a salute, ready for orders.

"I need you and your squad to infiltrate Danzo Shimura's residence and ROOT base of operations to find incriminating evidence against him. His involvement with Hanzo, Orochimaru post defection, and especially the theft of ten Sharingans and one Mangekyo Sharingan belonging to Shisui Uchiha, among several other transgressions. Extreme caution is necessary with this guy as he can use a technique that allows him to manipulate the thoughts of one nearby. It can't be used frequently, but if he spots you or is aware of you or your squad snooping on him, he will use it to his benefit. And unlike other techniques the Sharingan is capable of, this one does not require eye contact. But as long as he remains completely unaware of you, you and your team should be fine," I ordered, very serious.

"Sir!" Yamu replied before he disappeared.

I sighed. "I hope he and his team can handle it." I then turned to the ANBU. "None of what I just said is to leave this room unless otherwise instructed by myself in person, understood?"

"Yes, Your Awesomeness," they intoned professionally.

"Very good," I replied. "Now, do any of you know where the Uzumaki Clan's Mask Storage Temple is?"

* * *

After several minutes of explaining what the temple was it turned out that they didn't, so I resolved that as soon as my interview was over with, I would get some experienced scouts from the Kitsuné Army to find it for me.

However at that moment a second knock came at the door and I asked the knocker to come in with the ANBU disappearing as usual. I don't know what I was expecting on who was going to walk through, but I didn't expect a hot brunette with smart glasses to walk through. She wore grey pants that were tight around the ass and a sleeveless button up halter that was white with thin black stripes. Pinned above her generously sized left breast was a reporter's ID badge.

"Ahh, you must be the reporter from Fire TIME. And I must say you are quite the beautiful reporter too. Must get you many exclusives," I greeted smoothly with a smile before holding out my hand. "Josh Kitsuné."

"Why thank you," she replied with a return smile and shook my hand. "Emily Weston of Fire TIME magazine." She then looked me over. "I must say that when I got the job on interviewing the newest Hokage who was 14 years old, I wasn't expecting you to look so…"

"Devilishly handsome?" I asked with a teasing smile.

"Mature," she countered.

I nodded. "Fair enough. I can understand why people might be thrown off by my mature personality and the fact that I look like a 27 year old despite being only 14. I hope it doesn't make you feel uncomfortable."

"Not at all. Just surprised is all," she replied.

"Very well," I smiled before heaving up the very comfy chair and moving it to the front of my desk where the guest chair was. "Is this setup ok, cause I don't want the desk to be like a barrier in this interview?"

"That's fine," she replied before she sat down with her legs crossed and prepared a notepad, pen and tape recorder. In turn I sat down in my chair and waited with my hands in my lap.

"Well then, I guess the first question most people would be interested to hear is why you got the position of the most politically powerful person in Konoha?" she asked.

"Well, to be honest, I have no idea. While I'm much stronger than a Genin or a Chunin or even the average Jōnin probably, I'm not the strongest ninja in this village. I definitely wouldn't call myself politically smart. But I care about everyone under my command and I care about every villager within this village. I've demonstrated that, while I've been horribly mistreated by them in the past, I'm capable of forgiving them and starting anew. And it doesn't hurt that I command a massive army of fox summons to defend this place. I'll do everything I can to keep this place and Fire Country safe. But other than that," I shrugged at that moment. "You'd really have to ask Hiruzen why he chose me for the job, but I know that he hasn't gone senile and so has a very good reason for putting the hat on me."

"Is it true that you're the Jinchūriki for Kyuubi?"

"Yes, it is. However the fox's past isn't what it seemed to the general public, or even to the higher ups. Kyuubi was overcome with a very powerful genjutsu and against its will, was forced to attack Konoha. We're still in the process of identifying the individual who did this, but I assure you, he will be found and brought to justice. The people of Konoha deserve to have closure with this incident."

"It seems hard to believe that a genjutsu brought one of the strongest forces in the known world to heel and was then manipulated to attack Konoha," Emily reasoned.

"It's easy to believe that something as powerful as the Kyuubi is infallible. But, like all beings in this word, it has weaknesses. As this interview will be made public, I can't comment on what those weaknesses are, but I assure you, the Kyuubi never wanted to attack Konoha," I replied, humanizing Dawn as much as I could.

Emily nodded, satisfied with that response. "Now that you're the Fourth Hokage, what sort of changes can we expect to see in the future under your leadership?"

"One of the changes is the structure to ninja teams, with either the insertion of a fourth member who is medically certified and trained, or that one of the members in the three man teams is trained in the medical arts to cut down vitalities in the field. This proposal was brought up by Tsunade Senju in the past, however her petition was denied. I'm approving this course of action as a priority in the very near future," I replied.

"A lot of people, both ninja and otherwise, will be relieved to hear that," Emily smiled.

"There will be many other changes coming soon, but you'll just have to see what they are in the future," I added with a wink.

"Now for some questions about you personally. What are your likes and dislikes?"

"Well, I enjoy the company of my friends and family, not a fan of mushrooms or spiders. I enjoy training with my swords and sparring with my clan members. I dislike arrogant people who believe that, because of their status, they believe they are entitled to much more than they get."

Emily nodded once again. "One last question. What is your goal as the Hokage?"

I smiled as I had a feeling this question would pop up. "I strive to bring peace to all in the Elemental Countries. In the past that usually meant forging ahead with force and violence. But this just continues to feed the monster known as revenge. If we are to break this cycle of revenge, we need to forgive each other. I believe if one person can start this healing process, then it will spread. I've proven this with my inauguration speech. Most were ready to insult me, to rip me to shreds out of hatred and their loss. But I showed that I could forgive them willingly, and this, in turn, showed them that I was not a demon. They then began to realise the wrong they did, and from there, they began to forgive the past that was thrust on them unwillingly. For this to work outside the boundaries of this village, however, more things need to happen. Such as doing good deeds, and uniting under a common cause. Only then will people begin to forgive the past between them and move on."

Emily looked on in surprise at the wisdom I had just said. "Uhh… well, thank you, Josh. I think that's a wrap." She then stood up and tucked the notepad away. "I have a feeling public opinion on you is going to change drastically once this is printed. You might want to brace yourself."

"Oh joy, more fangirls," I sighed before smiling. "Do you need a cover picture?"

"Oh no, that was taken care of yesterday at your speech," she replied. "Well, it was a pleasure meeting you, Hokage. I hope I have the privilege of interviewing you soon."

"The pleasure is mine, Emily," I smiled again before opening to door for her. She walked out, but not before she gave me a quick chaste kiss on my cheek before leaving. I closed the door, a wide grin on my face. "Heh, who says nice guys finish last when it comes to women?"

* * *

**(AN: I've decided to reduce the soldiers in the Kitsune Army to just 1 million, as I realize that 10 million is way too much. Even China's army is only about 1.8 million strong. That's currently the only changes being made to the setup.)**


End file.
